The Korean Intellectual Property Office's trademark special judicial police noted on the 20th that they have investigated eight individuals, including A (53), who sold and distributed counterfeit products targeting foreign tourists in the Myeongdong tourist area of Seoul on charges of violating the trademark law.
The trademark police seized a total of 3,544 counterfeit items from six counterfeit product sales points during a concentrated crackdown from Feb. 13 to 24 in the Myeongdong tourist area of Seoul. The estimated retail price of the genuine products is about 20 billion won.
According to the trademark police, A and others are suspected of setting up a bag shop in Myeongdong, Seoul, targeting foreign tourists to distribute and sell counterfeit items such as bags, clothing, and wallets. They used touts to lure foreign tourists into their store and sold counterfeit products hidden in a secret area of the shop.
They hired touts to avoid detection and specifically targeted foreign tourists, particularly female tourists, for their touting activities. Additionally, it was confirmed that they operated by closing the shop door, selling counterfeit products when a tout brought in customers, and then closing the shop door again to evade law enforcement.
Shin Sang-gon, head of the Industrial Property Protection Cooperation Bureau, said, "The act of selling counterfeit products is a serious crime that infringes on the property rights of others," and added, "To eradicate the distribution of counterfeit products that could damage the country's image, we plan to strengthen on-site crackdowns and also conduct planned investigations into manufacturing and distribution channels."