Officials from Busan Regional Customs inspect confiscated counterfeit goods from China in Busan, Jan. 9. The authority indicted an e-commerce trader who imported from China about 10,000 fake goods altogether worth 20 billion won and sold them online in Korea. Yonhap

Chinese goods accounted for more than 90 percent of the counterfeit products imported into Korea last year, according to Korea Customs Service data released Thursday.

The border inspection agency provided the information at the request of Rep. Park Sung-hoon of the ruling People Power Party.

The authority reported confiscating 79 counterfeit imports over the year for infringing on intellectual property rights, with a combined value exceeding 170 billion won ($117 million). Chinese goods accounted for 61 cases, valued at 153.9 billion won, representing 90.3 percent of the total.

Hong Kong followed with five counterfeit items worth 6.7 billion won, while Thailand ranked third with three cases valued at 5.4 billion won.

The luxury French fashion brand Chanel accounted for the highest number of imported counterfeits, with fake goods bearing the Chanel brand valued at 54 billion won, making up 32 percent of the total. The United Kingdom's luxury brand Burberry followed, with counterfeits worth 11.7 billion won, while another French luxury brand, Louis Vuitton, ranked third, with counterfeits valued at 10 billion won.

Handbags represented the highest value among the counterfeits, totaling over 80 billion won. Clothing and fabrics followed, valued at 52 billion won, while watches were next, accounting for over 20 billion won.

The counterfeits were sold in Korea for 30 to 50 percent of the price of the original products.

Korean online shopping malls that directly sell foreign goods are a major channel for the sale of counterfeit items. In November, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) sampled 16 pairs of slippers and sandals from luxury brands, available for foreign direct purchase on e-commerce platforms. All of them were confirmed to be counterfeit. The determination was made based on discrepancies in the logos of the counterfeits compared to the originals.

"Goods priced 40 percent of the original or cheaper ones are highly probable that they are fake," a KIPO official said. "Fake goods have different qualities in material, form and sewing pattern. But unless comparing it with its original, catching fake ones is quite difficult."