Chinese shopping sites again sell illegal BTS 'Arirang' merchandise: "Unauthorized use of likeness"

As BTS (Bangtan Boys)’s comeback concert at Gwanghwamun Square draws global attention, illegal merchandise using the group’s likeness and concert-related images without permission is circulating on Chinese online shopping sites, sparking controversy, Financial News reported.
On the 24th, Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women's University, said, "Many netizens have sent me reports," adding, "After checking, I found that platforms such as Taobao and AliExpress are openly selling T-shirts and various accessories that use the Arirang logo."
Seo pointed out, "The biggest problem is that they are selling illegal merchandise that uses BTS’s portrait rights without authorization." He continued, "Even if the shopping platforms claim they only provide the marketplace and do not produce the goods themselves, allowing these counterfeit products to be displayed is clearly wrong."
Previously, when Netflix’s Squid Game gained huge popularity worldwide, the distribution of pirated products in China also became a major issue.
At the time, foreign media outlets including the South China Morning Post reported, "Some of the best-selling Squid Game-related items on Korean online shopping site Coupang are being sold by companies based in Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, and in Anhui Province in China."
Seo criticized, "It is unacceptable that they not only watch content illegally but also produce illegal merchandise and turn it into their own revenue stream," and stressed, "This must stop now. The act of stealing other countries’ content must come to an end once and for all."
jashin@fnnews.com Reporter Shin Jin-a Reporter