Fake K-Beauty Scandal: Counterfeit Products Sold on Coupang and Naver

K-beauty's global reputation has made it a target, and not only for imitators overseas. Korean authorities have uncovered a domestic counterfeiting scheme that sold fake cosmetics and health supplements directly through the country's own largest online marketplaces — Coupang and Naver.

For international wholesale buyers, the case is a useful reminder that a product's popularity is also what makes it a target, and that where you source from matters as much as what you source.

What Happened

Following a joint investigation by Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and intellectual property authorities, a Korean broker was referred to prosecutors for colluding with a manufacturer in Shenzhen, China to produce counterfeit cosmetics and health functional foods. An estimated 100,000 fake units were smuggled into Korea, and roughly 82,000 of them — worth an estimated KRW 4.5 billion (around USD 3.3 million) — had already sold out by the time the scheme was uncovered.

The method was deliberate. Counterfeit goods manufactured in China were brought into Korea disguised as overseas direct-purchase (direct import) shipments, then warehoused domestically in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. From there, orders were fulfilled and shipped to look exactly like ordinary domestic deliveries of genuine, in-stock product — making the fakes effectively indistinguishable from real listings at the point of purchase.

Two Dozen Brands, Real and Counterfeit Side by Side

Around 28 well-known Korean and international brands were counterfeited, including popular K-beauty names such as Torriden, Anua, COSRX, Beauty of Joseon, Isntree, Kahi, Wellage, and Dr. Melaxin, alongside global prestige brands. These are exactly the kind of brands that drive repeat, trust-based purchasing — which is precisely why they were targeted.

Authorities also found roughly KRW 1.3 billion (about USD 960,000) worth of additional counterfeit stock, spanning 87 product types, still sitting unsold in the broker's own warehouse.

The Packaging Looked Real. The Product Did Nothing.

Perhaps the most concerning detail is what the ingredient testing found. The outer packaging was reproduced precisely enough that it was difficult to distinguish from genuine product by sight. But when the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety tested the actual contents, the active functional ingredients the products were supposed to contain — whitening agents, anti-wrinkle actives, probiotics, and similar functional components — were detected at 0%.

In other words, customers were not just paying for a counterfeit brand. They were paying for a liquid with none of the effect the product claimed, packaged convincingly enough to pass as the real thing.

Why This Happened on Domestic Marketplaces

K-beauty's rising global profile is usually framed as a straightforward win for Korean brands and exporters. This case shows the reverse side of that trend: counterfeit operations increasingly see K-beauty's brand equity as valuable enough to exploit inside Korea itself, not just in export markets. Investigators have referred to this pattern as a form of reverse counterfeiting — fake goods manufactured abroad and funneled back into the exact market the brands call home.

The case also points to a structural weakness in open marketplace models. Paper-based seller verification alone is not enough to catch a counterfeit operation that is deliberately built to imitate legitimate stock, packaging, and delivery patterns. Both platform-side seller vetting and buyer-side vigilance — checking for an official brand storefront or verified authorized-seller badge — are necessary, not optional.

What This Means for Wholesale Buyers

For resellers and importers sourcing K-beauty outside Korea, the takeaway is not that Korean marketplaces or Korean brands are unreliable — the brands targeted here are themselves victims of counterfeiting. The takeaway is that authenticity has to be verified at the source, not assumed from a familiar brand name or a convincing listing.

A few practical habits reduce this risk substantially:

• Source from a distributor with a direct relationship to the brand or an authorized Korean exporter, not an unverified marketplace listing
• Ask for batch coding and documentation that lets you trace a product back to its manufacturer
• Be cautious of pricing that is unusually far below normal wholesale rates for a given brand
• Treat sudden availability of a hard-to-source, high-demand SKU as a reason for extra diligence, not just good luck

At Korean Goods Wholesale, we work directly with brands and authorized exporters so that international buyers can source Korean beauty products with confidence in what they're actually receiving. If authenticity and supply chain traceability matter to your business — and they should — contact our team to discuss verified sourcing options.

This article is based on Korean media reports of a joint investigation by Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and intellectual property authorities, published September 2026. Figures are as reported and may be revised as the case proceeds.