South Korea moves to protect K-brands from overseas counterfeits

Counterfeit versions of "Malguen Ssal Suncream," a popular sunscreen from Korean cosmetics brand Joseon Beauty, have recently appeared on overseas online platforms including Amazon and TikTok Shop. The fakes closely mimic the original's packaging — down to the foil seal design on the container opening — and are priced near the genuine product to avoid raising consumer suspicion.

As Korean brands in beauty, food and fashion gain popularity abroad, cases of unauthorized trademark use and product imitation have multiplied, prompting the government to mount a coordinated response.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korean Intellectual Property Office announced Friday they will hold a launch meeting at the Government Daejeon Complex to establish the "SME K-Brand Intellectual Property Protection Consultative Body."

The body will bring together the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency and the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency. Agencies that support small and medium-sized enterprises' overseas expansion will share information and coordinate programs with those responsible for handling overseas intellectual property disputes.

Intellectual property infringement targeting K-brands abroad extends beyond cosmetics into food. In Indonesia and other markets, counterfeit and imitation products copying the trademarks and packaging of well-known Korean seaweed brands have circulated in local markets and online shopping platforms. Overseas operators have also registered Korean companies' well-known brands as local trademarks before manufacturing lookalike products and exporting them to third countries.

Until now, support for SMEs' overseas expansion and intellectual property protection has been handled separately by individual agencies. The new body will allow the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency's overseas export support network and the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency's dispute-response system to work in tandem when counterfeit goods or trademark squatting are identified at export sites. The government also plans to link the two programs so that companies receiving export support can seamlessly access overseas intellectual property protection services as well.

The government will also tap its overseas network. The Korea SMEs and Startups Agency operates 22 Global Business Centers in 14 countries, including New York, Tokyo, Beijing, Hanoi and Jakarta. The Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency supports 40 countries through 10 overseas IP centers in Los Angeles, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City, Mexico City and elsewhere.

The two agencies plan to use those overseas outposts to regularly share and act on information about local infringement cases, including trademark squatting and counterfeit distribution. They will also jointly hold education sessions and briefings on overseas intellectual property protection and dispute response. The Korea SMEs and Startups Agency and the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency plan to sign an MOU and formally activate their collaborative framework.

"Counterfeiting or imitating K-brands is a serious matter that goes beyond economic loss — it can inflict severe damage on a company's image and brand, and even threaten its survival," said Shim Jae-yun, director general for global growth policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. "We will strengthen cooperation among relevant agencies to minimize intellectual property damage suffered by our small and medium-sized enterprises during the export process."

Park Jin-hwan, director general of the intellectual property dispute response bureau at the Korean Intellectual Property Office, said the key is proactive support so that brands built up through hard work by small businesses are not blindsided by trademark squatting or counterfeiting when they go overseas. "We will work to build an intellectual property protection network that closely connects the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' export support infrastructure with our dispute-response system, so that Korean SMEs can grow abroad with confidence," he said.