The value of fake luxury goods that were imported to South Korea over the past five years stood at more than US$1.56 billion, a lawmaker has said, with counterfeit Rolex products accounting for the largest share.

According to the data that Rep. Yang Kyung-sook of the Democratic Party received from the Korea Customs Service, the value of products violating intellectual property rights that were detected by the customs office during the import process amounted to $1.76 billion between 2018-2022.

In particular, the value of such products detected last year stood at $444.5 million, up 141.1 per cent from a year earlier.

By brand, Rolex ranked first with $241.7 million in counterfeit imports over the past five years, followed by Louis Vuitton at $173.2 million, Chanel at $76.8 million and Burberry at $65.8 million.

By country of origin, China accounted for the largest share at $1.5 billion, or 85.7 per cent of the total. Following China were Japan at $24.2 million, Hong Kong at $9.4 million, the US at $7.5 million and Vietnam at $2.3 million.

By type of item, watches grabbed the largest share at $725.4 million, followed by bags at $490.7 million, clothing at $175.9 million and shoes at $72.8 million.

The story was originally published on Korea Bizwire.