On June 16, 2026, South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the Korea Customs Service (KCS), and the Korea Cosmetic Association (KCA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a public-private response system aimed at eradicating the counterfeit cosmetics that have proliferated alongside the global expansion of K-Beauty, and at safeguarding consumer safety and the overseas competitiveness of Korean cosmetics brands. CIRS Group has compiled the key contents of the agreement for your reference.
Background
K-Beauty exports have continued to grow rapidly. According to MFDS data, South Korea’s cosmetics exports reached USD 11.4 billion in 2025 — a record high and the second-largest in the world. However, as the international profile of Korean brands has risen, counterfeiting has spread in parallel. OECD data shows that the global scale of counterfeit goods infringing the intellectual property rights of Korean enterprises reaches about USD 9.7 billion (approximately KRW 11 trillion); by the value of customs seizures, cosmetics ranks third — after electronics and textiles/clothing — at about 10%.
Unlike genuine products, counterfeit cosmetics cannot be verified for their manufacturing and quality-management systems, and their ingredients and hygiene conditions cannot be guaranteed, making them liable to pose consumer-health risks and to damage the credibility and export competitiveness of Korean cosmetics brands. Accordingly, at a National Policy Coordination Meeting in November 2025, the Korean government discussed a plan to “strictly respond to counterfeit cosmetics that undermine K-Beauty credibility”; this four-party agreement is the follow-up measure to that meeting.
Key Contents of the Agreement
On June 16, 2026, the MFDS, KIPO, the KCS, and the KCA signed the government-industry MOU at the Korea Intellectual Property Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
Following the signing, the four parties will operate a public-private consultative body on a regular semi-annual basis, focusing on the following areas of cooperation:
- Collection and sharing of information on the manufacture, import, and distribution of counterfeit cosmetics, both domestically and internationally;
- Investigation, enforcement, support, and policy formulation through analysis of counterfeit-cosmetics distribution cases;
- Testing and inspection of counterfeit cosmetics and verification of safety standards;
- Strengthening enforcement and interception in import/export and overseas direct-purchase channels;
- Identifying suspected counterfeit-cosmetics sales through online-monitoring collaboration, and advancing investigation, enforcement, and education/training cooperation.
At the customs-clearance stage, the Korea Customs Service will, on the basis of risk information shared by the signatory parties, “pre-emptively” intercept counterfeit goods flowing in from abroad, and will focus on counterfeit K-brand goods manufactured, distributed, or exported overseas by expanding cooperation with the customs authorities and law-enforcement agencies of major export destinations.
Statements
MFDS: "Counterfeit cosmetics are a serious challenge that threatens the health of the public and the credibility of K-Beauty. The MFDS will, alongside its thorough response to counterfeit cosmetics, spare no effort in providing cosmetics business operators with substantive support — including building quality-management systems, verifying safety, and strengthening capacity to respond to international standards-so that K-Beauty can further consolidate its position in the global market."
KIPO: "Protecting K-brands is no longer simply about securing rights; it is directly tied to the overseas expansion and competitiveness of K-Beauty and enterprises. Taking this MOU as an opportunity, we will work with the MFDS and the KCS to provide export enterprises with customized support for brand protection, and to strengthen government-wide enforcement capacity against the distribution of counterfeit cosmetics."
KCS: "Through this cooperation, we will receive risk information shared by the signatory agencies and proactively intercept counterfeit goods entering from abroad at the customs-clearance stage, and we will expand cooperation with the customs authorities and law-enforcement agencies of major K-brand export countries to actively support K-brand enterprises in entering global markets."
CIRS Reminder
This four-party agreement marks a shift in Korea’s governance of counterfeit cosmetics-from a fragmented approach to public-private, full-chain coordination. For enterprises doing cosmetics business in Korea or exporting to Korea, it is advisable to keep tracking the subsequent enforcement updates, safety-testing standards, and overseas-direct-purchase interception lists released by the MFDS, KIPO, and KCS, and to strengthen your own IP portfolio and genuine-product traceability systems so as to guard against the brand and compliance risks that can arise from association with counterfeit goods.
If you need any assistance or have any questions, please get in touch with us via service@cirs-group.com.
Our Services
- Korean Cosmetics Product Notification & Registration (General Cosmetics, Functional Cosmetics)
- Korea Cosmetic Ingredient Database (KCID) Registration
- South Korea Responsible Party (RP) Services
- South Korea Cosmetic Formula Review
- South Korea Cosmetic Label Review
- Quality Inspection
Further Information:
South Korea MFDS
