Date: October 07, 2011
Source: KIPO

The Special Judicial Police Squad for Trademarks of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) (hereafter referred to as “police squad”) enhanced the crackdown on counterfeit goods since its launching in September last year and recorded a total of 141 arrests for police booking and the confiscation of approximately 48,000 counterfeit goods (amounting to KRW 12 billion worth of goods at genuine product prices).

These arrests amount to six times the monthly average police booking and 11 times the monthly average number of confiscations made before the introduction of the police squad (January – August 2010). The number of arrests has jumped with the activities of the police squad because KIPO no longer has to rely on the joint crackdown with prosecutors and the police. The police squad has the ability to act independently in the crackdown on producers, distributors and sellers of counterfeit goods.

Of the arrested criminals, there were 105 wholesale and retail sellers, 24 online sellers, 7 producers and 5 distributors.

An analysis of the confiscated counterfeit goods revealed that 6,618 were decorations, 5,583 clothes, 5,411 bags, and 1,272 shoes. By brand, 8,702 were Louis Vuitton counterfeits, followed by 6,085 Polo Ralph Lauren, 4,653 MCM, and 4,651 Chanel goods.

While the squad has made great achievements in the crackdown on counterfeit goods since its launching, the transaction methods are becoming all the more sophisticated and the distribution channels all the more diverse.

The police squad is the only investigational organization in Korea specializing in counterfeit goods and despite its symbolic value, its lack of staff prohibits the dispatch of manpower commensurate to the regional demand. The squad is also facing difficulties in running an investigational organization solely responsible for the online distribution of counterfeit goods, despite the rapid rise in this type of crime.

“We are having many difficulties in cracking down on counterfeit goods given the limited budget and staff, but by selecting and concentrating on our targets, we plan to overcome these difficulties. First, we recruited 10 police officers with experience in investigation last August for enhanced expertise and we will open an investigation team solely responsible for the crackdown on online counterfeit goods distribution equipped with digital forensics, during the second half of the year,” said Oh Yeong-deok, the head of the squad.