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In Korea’s online counterfeit scene, Chanel bags the top spot

Published: 02 May. 2025, 18:20

Counterfeit items in display at a secret backdoor store in Myeong-dong, Jung District, central Seoul, in November last year. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

Over the past five years, Chanel was the most frequently counterfeited brand discovered through online monitoring in Korea, according to recent data.

The number of counterfeit product listings flagged online increased by an average of 16 percent annually from 2020 to 2024, according to liberal Democratic Party Rep. Oh Sae-hee. The data came from the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency’s report on the performance of its remote monitoring team.

The agency tracked counterfeit product listings across 17 online platforms, including 12 open markets, two portal sites and three social media platforms.

Sellers were found to be using keywords such as “authentic-grade,” “mirror-grade,” “replica for sale” and “non-manufacturer branded item” in product listings to market counterfeit goods.

The number of detected cases was 126,542 in 2020, 171,606 in 2021, 181,131 in 2022, 198,853 in 2023 and 225,841 in 2024.

By brand, Chanel topped the list with 138,082 detected cases. Louis Vuitton followed with 101,621, then Gucci with 92,505, Christian Dior with 46,621, Prada with 40,759, Nike with 38,329, Celine with 28,419, Balenciaga with 28,114 and Saint Laurent with 20,768.

By product type, bags were the most common at 309,420 cases. Clothing followed with 234,894, then shoes with 139,326, accessories with 67,848, wallets with 47,682 and watches with 41,624.

“The number of counterfeit products detected by the remote monitoring team is on the rise, but it is still insufficient to curb the pace at which they circulate,” Rep. Oh said on Friday. “We need to build a system that can continuously monitor counterfeit goods using advanced AI detection capabilities and expand proactive and targeted investigations by the Korea Intellectual Property Office’s special judicial police for trademarks.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]