The South Korean government held a meeting on Wednesday to address foreign companies jumping on the Korean Wave bandwagon.
Many foreign companies are creating fake ‘South Korean’ brands to take advantage of the Korean Wave led by BTS and K-dramas.
The government will begin monitoring foreign media and social networks to sort out fake ‘South Korean’ brands and inform local consumers.
The government will also support South Korean firms to contact local enforcement agencies when foreign intellectual property centers, located in 15 locations in eight countries, find cases of illicit activity.
Many foreign companies, however, fall short of copying South Korean brands. Rather, they imitate them in a way that makes it difficult for what they are doing to be qualified as illegal activity.
The government is concerned that these activities may incite negative perceptions towards South Korean exports, and is insisting on strengthening measures against opportunistic companies by cracking down on any trademarks that resemble a South Korea brand to prevent unfair competition and protect consumers.
In Thailand, the local police cracked down on MUMUSO, a fake ‘South Korean’ brand, and confiscated some 1,300 products that violated legislation on consumer protection.