Seoul seizes 7,369 counterfeit luxury goods from underground warehouse in record haul

The Seoul Metropolitan Government's civic judicial police unit said Monday it had raided an underground warehouse in Jangan-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, and seized a large cache of counterfeit luxury goods. A man in his 50s, identified only as A, is set to be referred to prosecutors on charges of violating the Trademark Act.

A total of 7,369 counterfeit items were confiscated, with an estimated retail value of about 8.89 billion won ($6.44 million) — the largest seizure in the unit's history of investigating counterfeit goods.

The confiscated items included 1,004 bags, 3,187 wallets, 752 pairs of sunglasses and 669 bottles of perfume, all bearing fake luxury brand markings. Investigators confirmed the goods were so-called "mirror-grade" fakes — the highest tier of counterfeit products, designed to closely replicate genuine items.

The investigation found that A had stockpiled thousands of counterfeit items in the warehouse and hired dedicated sellers to move the goods nationwide through live-streaming platforms, including YouTube.

Authorities said the distribution of counterfeit goods is increasingly organized and wide-ranging, combining large warehouses with online live broadcasts. Even after referring the case to prosecutors, the unit plans to continue its investigation — analyzing digital data from mobile phones and examining transaction records to trace how the goods were sourced and identify additional suppliers, with the aim of mapping the full distribution network.

Meanwhile, the unit had also busted two individuals in April who had been operating out of an entire floor of a building in Dongdaemun, selling counterfeit goods on a large scale. That raid yielded 1,649 items with an estimated retail value of about 7.2 billion won.

Distributing, selling or storing counterfeit goods constitutes a criminal offense that causes significant harm to the property and reputation of others. Under Article 230 of the Trademark Act, offenders face up to seven years in prison or a fine of up to 100 million won.

The civic judicial police unit said it has identified a shift in counterfeit crime away from face-to-face sales toward a nationwide distribution model using large warehouses and online live broadcasts. Going forward, investigators plan to focus not only on street-level sellers but also on suppliers, storage hubs, online sellers and broader distribution networks, in order to crack down on the spread of large-scale, organized counterfeit operations.

"Counterfeit goods crime is becoming increasingly organized and wide-ranging, moving beyond simple retail sales to exploit large warehouses and online distribution channels," said Lee Chang-seok, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's civic judicial police unit. "Seoul will sharpen its investigative focus to keep pace with evolving criminal methods and do its utmost to eradicate counterfeit goods crime."