The Seoul Metropolitan Government's Public Welfare Police Bureau said on the 20th that it referred two members of a ring that had been selling counterfeit goods in Dongdaemun to prosecutors on the 16th.
A total of 1,649 counterfeit items were seized on site in this raid, with an estimated genuine value of about 7.2 billion won. This is the largest scale since Seoul began investigating counterfeit goods.
Items seized this time include 868 bags, 653 wallets, and 128 watches, all bearing counterfeit luxury brand logos. Most were confirmed to be top-tier counterfeits, commonly called "mirror grade."
The two arrested members occupied most of a floor in a large shopping mall for 10 years and ran a corporate-style store under tight security, targeting foreign tourists. They generated large sales through group purchases coordinated with tour guides. Inside the store, they placed foreign luxury magazines and used them not merely for display but as covert codes and signals to gauge passing customers' intent to buy or to identify one another.
In particular, to evade law enforcement surveillance, they installed about a dozen CCTV cameras inside and outside the store and operated separate secret warehouses sporadically in various locations. This was to prevent the full inventory from being exposed in case of a raid.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government's Civil Affairs Bureau tracked and staked them out for six months to arrest them. It also carried out multiple search-and-seizure warrants and decided to deploy digital forensics specialists. Already with four prior violations of the Trademark Act, the ring monitored investigative movements and media reports in real time and thoroughly blocked sales to Korean nationals.
In response, the Civil Affairs Bureau continued a high-intensity joint investigation, even deploying trademark holders of well-known brands to the scene. Using digital records from seized mobile phones, authorities identified not only the in-store warehouses but also residences where counterfeits were hidden, securing the dispersedly concealed counterfeit goods and evidence.
Distributing, selling, or storing counterfeit goods is a criminal act that causes significant damage to others' property and credit. If caught, offenders can face up to seven years in prison or a fine of up to 100 million won under the Trademark Act.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government asked citizens to actively report to help eradicate increasingly sophisticated and covert counterfeit sales crimes. Those who contribute to the public good by reporting crimes with decisive evidence can receive rewards of up to 200 million won.
Byun Gyeong-ok, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Public Welfare Police Bureau, said, "Counterfeit goods crimes not only disrupt a sound market order but also undermine public trust in public authority, constituting a grave offense," adding, "We will continue to investigate distribution of counterfeit goods even more forcefully."