Trillions Worth of Fake Luxury Goods Impounded in Customs

More than W2 trillion worth of fake luxury goods have been impounded in customs over the last five years (US$1=W1,265).

The Korea Customs Service on Sunday said it confiscated some 7,250 counterfeit products worth W2.24 trillion from 2018 to 2022. Last year alone the amount surged 141.1 percent to W563.9 billion.

Rolex topped the list of brands with W306.5 billion worth of fake watches being confiscated, followed by Louis Vuitton (W219.7 billion), Chanel (97.4 billion) and Burberry (W83.5 billion).

The biggest source was China with a whopping 85.7 percent or W1.9 trillion, followed by Japan (W30.7 billion), Hong Kong (W1.2 billion), the U.S. (W9.5 billion) and Vietnam (W3 billion).

Fake watches accounted for the biggest proportion (W920.1 billion), followed by handbags (W622.2 billion), clothes (W221.8 billion) and shoes (W92.3 billion).