Counterfeit Sales Ringleader Who Fled to Viet Nam Captured via INTERPOL Red Notice – South Korea’s MOIP
28-Sep-2026
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Source : The South Korea’s Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP)
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Visits : 101
- MOIP Trademark Police arrests ringleader who distributed counterfeits via overseas livestreams.
- 8,000 counterfeit items worth KRW 3.7 billion in genuine-product value seized, domestic accomplices also booked without detention.
DAEJEON - The Trademark Police of the South Korea’s Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP), led by Minister KIM Yong Sun, announced that it arrested and detained a 32-year-old man, identified as “Suspect A,” on charges of violating the Trademark Act. After fleeing to Viet Nam, Suspect A allegedly recruited and managed a network of sellers, including Korea-based and overseas YouTubers, to distribute and sell counterfeit products. Three alleged accomplices, including a 42-year-old man identified as “Suspect B,” were also booked without detention, according to the official website of MOIP.
This marks the first case since the Trademark Police was established in September 2010 in which a suspect who fled overseas to evade investigation for selling counterfeit products was apprehended abroad and repatriated to Korea. The operation involved international cooperation, including an INTERPOL Red Notice.*
* INTERPOL Red Notice: A notice issued by the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), requesting law enforcement authorities worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a wanted person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action.
< Fleeing Overseas to Evade Domestic Enforcement... Selling Counterfeits to Korean Consumers via Overseas Livestreams>
According to the Trademark Police investigation, Suspect A fled to Viet Nam in May 2025 to evade law enforcement and is suspected of conspiring with Korea-based and overseas YouTubers to distribute and sell counterfeit products to consumers in Korea through livestreams from May 2025 to May 2026.
After fleeing to Viet Nam, Suspect A initially supplied counterfeit products to three Korea-based YouTubers, including Suspect B, instructed them on sales methods, and facilitated the distribution and sale of counterfeit products from May to July 2025.
After the Trademark Police raided the offices of Suspect B and other accomplices in Gyeonggi Province in July 2025, Suspect A allegedly changed his methods. He recruited more than 10 YouTubers based in Viet Nam and formed a new counterfeit sales network known as the “00 Alliance,” continuing the operation from July 2025 to May 2026.
Acting as the ringleader of this enterprise-level counterfeit distribution and sales operation, Suspect A allegedly recruited individual sellers, including Korea- and Viet Nam-based YouTubers, by offering accommodation and meals in Viet Nam and promising high earnings. Furthermore, he demonstrated meticulousness by selling counterfeit products through guerrilla-style livestreams from abroad to evade the surveillance network of investigative authorities.
In July 2025, the Trademark Police raided the offices of accomplices involved in livestream sales and seized approximately 8,000 counterfeit items, including bags and clothing, with an estimated value of KRW 3.7 billion based on the retail prices of genuine products.
< Ringleader Apprehended through INTERPOL Red Notice and International Cooperation >
After confirming that Suspect A had fled overseas, the Trademark Police launched an international cooperative investigation with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the Korean National Police Agency, and INTERPOL and took measures to secure Suspect A’s custody, including obtaining a domestic arrest warrant, invalidating his passport, and requesting an INTERPOL Red Notice.
Through international cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Viet Nam and Vietnamese law enforcement authorities, Suspect A was apprehended locally in Viet Nam in May 2026 and repatriated to Korea on August 5, 2026.
The Trademark Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding Suspect A’s distribution and sale of counterfeit products, his recruitment and management of sellers in Korea, and whether additional accomplices or offenses were involved.
< Trademark Police Tracks Down Offenders Even If They Flee Overseas... Strengthening Investigations into Counterfeit Networks >
Counterfeit-related crimes have recently become increasingly organized and transnational, with offenders recruiting sellers through online platforms, social media and livestreams and supplying counterfeit products from overseas.
Rather than limiting enforcement efforts to individual sellers, the Trademark Police are strengthening targeted investigations aimed at tracing counterfeit supply chains to suppliers, organizers and other higher-level actors. They also plan to enhance international cooperation with INTERPOL, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Korean National Police Agency and relevant overseas authorities to actively pursue suspects who distribute counterfeit products to consumers in Korea while operating from abroad.
Vice Minister JEONG Yeon Woo of the Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP), stated, "This case demonstrates our efforts to track down and detain a ringleader who fled overseas through international law enforcement cooperation. We will continue to thoroughly pursue not only individual sellers but also counterfeit suppliers and higher-level organizers in order to disrupt counterfeit distribution networks.”