Clothes by Jansay, available at Musinsa, are displayed at the brand's pop-up store in Seoul, June 2023. Courtesy of Musinsa

The country's small and- medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the fashion industry have jointly launched a new watchdog agency against sellers of Chinese products that illegally copy original designs from Korean products, according to the industry observers, Sunday.

Musinsa, a popular local on- and offline shopping platform for SME fashion brands, and 40 Korean SME brands have launched the Brand Intellectual Property Protection Association. Registered as a non-profit organization under the country's Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the association has reserved its leadership for Korean fashion brand platform GBGH's (Good Brand Good House) president, Kim Hoon-do.

The association's key objective is to monitor Korean and Chinese e-commerce platforms and search for counterfeits with designs copied from products released by member companies.

The association, following its launch, has joined an anti-counterfeit distribution association under the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency.

It has also agreed with the Korea Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the Korea Customs Service and local patent firms to launch campaigns to protect the design rights of its member firms.

A promotional image for the "Fake Never" campaign, launched by Musinsa and 50 other companies in the country's fashion industry to raise public awareness on design theft, February 2023 / Courtesy of Musinsa

The fashion industry's latest initiative comes after Musinsa and the Korean Brand Fashion Organization jointly launched the campaign "Fake Never" last year to raise public awareness of design theft and how it threatens the intellectual properties of local SMEs.

The organization began with 50 Korean SME brand firms, manufacturers and distributors and was later joined by more than 50 companies within two months of its launch.

The counterfeit problem has been ever-present in the country's fashion industry. But following the emergence of Chinese e-commerce platforms like Temu and AliExpress, the problem has deepened.

Not only did the online platforms sell products for ultra-cheap prices compared to retail prices in the Korean market, but they also sold counterfeit products that copied designs from existing products.

Distributors of those fake goods included both Chinese and Koreans, according to the industry watchers.

"Foreign direct-purchase online shopping platforms have become unbridled showrooms for fake K-fashion goods, and Koreans [engaging in the] crime are [worsening] the problem," a representative of one of the newly formed fashion alliance's member companies said. "The situation has forced us to take a joint counter-effort."

Prior to Musinsa's latest joint movement with its local business partners, KIPO on April 1, had its technology and design police division launch a new watchdog unit, Design Counterfeit Monitoring & Support Team, to increase vigilance on the issue.