A counterfeit ‘Bleu de Chanel’ perfume was selling for a price of about 75,000 won, significantly lower than the official price ranging from 135,000 won to 158,000 won on Chanel’s official website. (Image courtesy of Rep. Jeong Il-yeong)
SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Korea Bizwire) – A warning has been issued regarding counterfeit products being sold on Naver’s Smart Store portal. It has been revealed that up to 300,000 counterfeit products, including fake Chanel perfume containing urine, are being sold on Naver’s portal.
According to the ‘Status of Counterfeit Product Detection by Online Platforms’ issued by the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the number of cases where the distribution of counterfeit products was detected on the Naver platform was estimated at 297,200 over the past five years.
Breaking down the number of such cases by channel within the Naver platform, blogs accounted for 138,532 cases, followed by Naver Cafes with 133,442 cases, Naver Band groups with 14,926 cases, and Smart Stores with 10,300 cases.
For instance, a counterfeit ‘Bleu de Chanel’ perfume was selling for a price of about 75,000 won, significantly lower than the official price ranging from 135,000 won to 158,000 won on Chanel’s official website.
The problem is that the counterfeit product was confirmed to contain 0.28% methanol (v/v), a level eligible for sales prohibition under the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s safety standards. Methanol is a harmful substance that can cause cancer or damage the optic nerve if exposed to the human body.
It has also been pointed out that in the process of manufacturing such fake perfumes, animal or human urine is often used to control acidity (pH) since it requires no additional cost.
Naver does not bear any responsibility for the sales of counterfeit products through its online platform, as stated in the terms and conditions of sale, making it clear that customers are on their own when it comes to products sold through the company’s online channels.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
