Coupang (CPNG) is piloting a dedicated hotline for cosmetics brands to strengthen its response to counterfeit K-beauty products. The company said it will accept counterfeit reports on weekends, holidays and late at night to act more quickly.
Coupang said on the 13th that it held a "Brand Protection Seminar" with the Korea Cosmetic Association on the 10th to discuss its handling of counterfeit goods and ways to cooperate on protecting the intellectual property of Korean cosmetics companies.
The move comes as counterfeit cosmetics spread rapidly alongside K-beauty's growing popularity overseas. Blocked listings of counterfeit Korean-brand cosmetics on overseas online platforms rose from 16,774 in 2023 to 36,116 last year, more than doubling in two years, according to the Korean Intellectual Property Office.
At the seminar, Coupang also disclosed its procedures for dealing with counterfeit goods. The company runs a three-stage system: prevention that blocks malicious sellers from joining the platform, detection using artificial intelligence and monitoring, and post-report action that immediately halts sales. Sellers confirmed to have sold counterfeit goods face a one-strike-out policy.
Coupang plans to expand cooperation so that product identification data and distribution characteristics held by brands can be factored into the detection process. It will incorporate the feedback gathered at the seminar into its operating procedures and hold such seminars regularly.
"Protecting intellectual property is an area that requires continuous communication and cooperation with brands," said Nina Ramesh, head of Coupang's IP legal division. "We will steadily improve our response system in ways that brands can actually feel."
