Lazada has pledged to remove any counterfeit South Korean goods from its platform in a Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency (KOIPA).

It is reportedly the first time a Southeast Asian e-commerce company has reached an agreement with the Korean IP regulator and reflects the growing popularity of Korean beauty and fashion products online across Asia.

Korean brands online and considered at risk from counterfeit products include Etude House, Innisfree, Laneige, Mamonde and 3CE.

“The combined followers for [those brands’] Lazada flagship stores are more than 200,000,” Gladys Chun, general counsel and head of government affairs at Lazada Group, told The Drum online.

“Laneige, Mamonde, Innisfree and 3CE were top search terms in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam during the recent Lazada 11.11 Shopping Festival.”

Lazada has undertaken to remove any counterfeit goods from sale on its platform when alerted by brand owners, once it has confirmed authenticity. Sellers caught trying to sell copy goods on its site face blacklisting.

“Such measures to curb illicit trading of goods on Lazada are aimed at boosting the confidence and preserving the trust of shoppers on our platform,” Chun said.

“At Lazada, we respect and collaborate with rights holders in safeguarding their IP through a combination of proactive and reactive measures. It is incumbent on us to create that trusted space for shoppers and brands, giving them the peace-of-mind that we will always be acting in their best interests.”