Data For: South Korea Black Market
Number of counterfeit goods seized in 2002 World Cup
In the 2002 World Cup held in South Korea and Japan, authorities seized more than 3 million World Cup counterfeit goods before and during the tournament.
Music piracy in South Korea drops by 92 percent
Between 2008 and 2009, the number of pirated music files found online by the South Korean Government dropped by 92 percent.
Louis Vuitton top counterfeit brand in South Korea
In 2009, Louis Vuitton was the most counterfeited brand in South Korea, accounting for up to half of all counterfeit goods seizures.
In 2008, Chanel was the most counterfeited brand in South Korea.
Source: Korea Herald, “”Louis Vuitton” No.1 fake brand in Korea,” Asia One, October 15, 2009.
Concerns about human trafficking of women from Cambodia to South Korea
In 2010, Cambodia’s Foreign Ministry banned marriages between Cambodia women and South Korean men over concerns of human trafficking.
In 2008, 551 Cambodian women married South Korean men. In 2009, the number increased to 1,372. Nearly 60 percent of marriages between foreigners and Cambodian women involve South Korean men, with a majority of marriages arraigned through brokers.
2009 Counterfeit goods seizures in Japan
Customs officials in Japan seized 1.04 million counterfeit goods items in 2009, according to Finance Ministry. The total amount seized was up 10.6 percent from the previous year.
86 percent of the counterfeit items originated from China, followed by 6 percent from South Korea.
The most counterfeited good was counterfeit purses, which accounted for 55 percent of all goods seized.
Source: “Pirated goods halted by customs in 2009 top 1 million,” Japan Today, March 13, 2010.
North Korean women bribe guards to escape country with sex and money
South Korea’s National Human Rights Commission found that 20 percent of women in refugee camps bribes North Korean guards with either sex or money in order to defect from the country.
Source: AFP, “N.Korea women refugees suffer abuse: watchdog,” Google News, February 22, 2010.
China and South Korea are the largest illegal downloaders of music
According to a survey of 8,500 people in 13 countries, people in China illegally downloaded the most music in 2009, followed by South Korea.
Source: “Korea World’s No.2 in Online Music Piracy,” Chosun Ilbo, January 26, 2010.
Chinese boats seized for illegal fishing in South Korea
307 Chinese boats were seized by South Korean officials in 2009 for illegal fishing activities, down 15 percent from the 353 boats seized in 2008.
Source: “Fewer Chinese boats seized for illegal fishing last year,” Yonhap News, January 2, 2010.
Sex Trade in South Korea
In 2007, the sex trade in South Korea is estimated to be worth 14 Trillion South Korean Won, or $12 Billion. This is equal to 1.6 percent of South Korea’s GDP.
The Korean Women’s Development Institute reported that there were 46,000 brothels in the country in 2007.
Source: Kim So-hyun, “Sex trade accounts for 1.6% of GDP,” The Korea Herald,September 20, 2008.
Up to 400 whales killed in South Korea each year
An estimated 400 whales are illegally killed or poached in the water surrounding South Korea.


