K-Beauty and K-Food Counterfeits Proliferate... Ministries of SMEs and Startups and Intellectual Property Join Forces Overseas

[Financial News] As the popularity of Korean brands such as K-Beauty and K-Food grows overseas, damage from counterfeit and imitation products has increased. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Intellectual Property have decided to mount a joint response. 
 According to the government and other sources on the 4th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Intellectual Property activated a collaborative system to respond to overseas intellectual property rights infringements.
 As the Korean Wave has recently gained momentum, counterfeit K-Beauty, K-Fashion and K-Food products have flooded the market, causing mounting damage to small and medium-sized exporters. According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the popular Beauty of Joseon product Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics is being counterfeited and sold on Amazon and TikTok Shop. To avoid consumer suspicion, counterfeiters made not only the product's exterior but also the sealing sticker on the container opening look similar to the genuine product. The counterfeits were also priced similarly to the genuine items.
 Similar damage has also occurred in K-Food. In Indonesia and elsewhere, products copying the trademarks and packaging of a well-known Korean seaweed brand are being distributed in local markets and online shopping malls.
 The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Intellectual Property plan to use their overseas outposts—the Global Business Centers (GBCs) and overseas intellectual property (IP) centers—to regularly share information about ‘K-counterfeits’ and coordinate their response.
 The ministries will also strengthen cooperation among related programs so that small and medium-sized enterprises participating in export support programs run by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups can also receive linked support under overseas intellectual property protection programs. They will jointly conduct education sessions and briefings on overseas intellectual property protection and dispute response measures. KOSME and the protection agency plan to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in the future.
 Shim Jae-yoon, Director General for Global Growth Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "Counterfeiting and imitation of K-brands can cause serious damage to companies and brand images beyond the economic losses." Shim added, "We will strengthen cooperation among relevant organizations to minimize the intellectual property damage that small and medium-sized enterprises suffer during the export process."
[email protected] Lee Ju-mi Reporter