Chinese e-commerce platforms are becoming increasingly popular among Korean consumers, largely due to the low prices of their products. At the same time, however, the Korean government has been receiving many reports of counterfeit items being sold on these platforms, prompting the government to introduce measures to address the issue.

The Incheon Customs Office, for example, which has been cracking down on counterfeit goods entering South Korea through maritime express cargo, conducted a special campaign between April 22 and June 14 this year, specifically targeting items being shipped from Chinese e-commerce platforms.

Incheon Customs reported that they seized 49,487 infringing items during their campaign, representing a 30% increase compared to last year. The majority of the counterfeit goods were shipped by Taobao (76%), followed by AliExpress (11%), 1688.com (10%), and Temu (0.4%).

The counterfeit items included 11,375 miscellaneous goods such as keyrings (23%), 11,221 stationery and toy products (22.7%), 4,319 tumblers and kitchenware (8.7%), and 3,060 perfumes and diffusers (6.2%). Additionally, 10,890 items were counterfeit versions of world famous luxury brands.

Incheon Customs is now planning to investigate those importers who repeatedly buy large quantities of counterfeit goods from the Chinese platforms and sell them through social networking platforms and small brick-and-mortar stores. Greater emphasis will be placed on rigorous inspections and enforcement against goods which pose health and safety threats, such as children's products, cosmetics, and kitchenware.