The Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) has urged consumers to exercise special caution as reports of counterfeit-related damages on domestic and international online platforms are increasing. The KCA announced these remarks while releasing the results of an investigation into counterfeit distribution by eight online platforms worldwide.
From 2022 until February of this year, the number of consultations related to counterfeit issues from major online platforms received by the Consumer Counseling Center and the International Transaction Consumer Portal was 1,572 cases.
Broken down by item, counterfeit-related consumer consultations were highest for ‘bags’ at 21.0%. This was followed by ‘shoes’ at 14.5%, ‘cosmetics’ at 12.5%, ‘audio devices’ at 10.9%, and ‘clothing’ at 9.4%.
In particular, consultations related to ‘bags’ have steadily increased over the past three years, with many involving high-priced foreign brand products.
The KCA emphasized the importance of being cautious of phrases suggesting counterfeits or prices that are excessively low. Among 40 products sold on overseas shopping malls like AliExpress and Temu, 72.5% were being sold at about 20% of their official site’s price. Additionally, in 51.8% of 27 posts on SNS platforms like Naver Band and Instagram, terms suggesting counterfeits such as ‘mirror grade’ or ‘genuine grade’ were used.
Of these, 66.7% operated through private channels where external transactions were encouraged or where seller approval was required to join. Although all eight platform operators researched provided methods for consumers to report counterfeits, the reporting did not proceed smoothly. The reporting methods were often written in foreign terms, making them hard to find for consumers, and refund procedures were complex.
Among consumers who unknowingly purchased counterfeits, 58.6% did not request a refund, with 60.4% of them citing the complexity and time consumption of the refund process as the reason.
The KCA shared the results of this investigation with relevant departments and requested that the businesses under investigation develop measures to block counterfeit sales within shopping malls, restrict the use of counterfeit-related words on SNS platforms, and provide advance guidance on how to report counterfeits.
Meanwhile, 68.4% of consumers who purchased counterfeits responded that they “do not see a problem with purchasing counterfeits.” In response, the KCA warned that “purchasing counterfeits is an infringement of brand intellectual property rights” and “there is a possibility of safety issues, such as physical harm, arising from counterfeit products.”
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