Actress Kim You-jung models for Shein's Dazy. Courtesy of Shein

Chinese e-commerce fashion platform Shein has officially challenged Korea's major online fashion malls with its new Korean shopping platform, turning the heads of local consumers with its below-average prices, according to the company, Thursday.

Shein released a statement saying it began catering to the Korean market by launching the Korean website in April. The Singapore-based company added it will start promoting the platform to locals "aggressively."

Shein's latest move follows the establishment of its Korean subsidiary in December 2022 and the start of promoting the company to Koreans in August the following year.

Shein Korea, alongside its online platform, has appointed Korean actress Kim You-jung as a model for its private brand Dazy. Apparel for spring and summer curated by the celebrity became available on the platform.

Bonnie Liu, a marketing official from Shein, said in the statement that Korea has been leading the global fashion, entertainment and culture industries, acknowledging the country as the company's key market.

"We'll meet Koreans' fashion and lifestyle needs with our high-quality, high-cost-effective products," Liu said. "With Kim's partnership with Dazy, we hope Korea's fashion trends can spread worldwide (through our online shopping channels)."

Meanwhile, Korea's local online fashion shopping platforms have been monitoring Shein Korea with tension. The Chinese company's competitive prices are expected to stir the market that has been dominated by major local players like Musinsa, Ably, Zigzag and Wconcept.

Korea's specialty store retailer-private label-apparel (SPA) brands including Topten10, SPAO and 8seconds — which design, manufacture and distribute their products all on their own — are also expected to catch flak from Shein Korea. So are e-commerce giants like Coupang as they have been selling products made in China.

Shein has been bulking up itself with robust sales worldwide. Its sales from last year registered $45 billion with an operating profit of $2 billion, beating Zara and H&M.

There are, however, concerns whether Shein's Korean platform is free of safety issues that other Chinese e-commerce platforms in Korea like AliEpress and Temu have been criticized for.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on May 28 said after testing eight leather products sold by Shein that seven of them were found to have traces of hazardous chemicals including formaldehyde and an environmental hormone lethal to humans. The company last month was also criticized for selling products that allegedly copied designs of Korean products.

There has been speculation that Shein might be trying to present a friendlier image to Koreans by hiring Kim.

"It's possible the strategy could water down the company's image that has been smeared by the chemical finding and intellectual property theft issues," an official from the local market here said.