1. The Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP) strengthens cooperation with China to protect K-brands.
- On the occasion of the President’s visit to China, MOIP signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA).
- The scope of cooperation expands to the utilization of cutting-edge technologies, such as AI, etc., the prevention of counterfeit products and the commercialization of IP, etc.
MOIP concludeD the MOU to deepen cooperation in the IP field with CNIPA, on the occasion of the South Korea-China Summit held in the Great Hall of the People on January 5, 2026.
This MOU to expand and complement the ‘MOU on in-depth cooperation in the IP field’ which was signed in 2021 significantly expands the scope of cooperation to: ▲ the cooperation for IP protection, such as prevention of counterfeit products, ▲ the utilization of new technology, such as AI, big data, etc., for examination and patent analysis, and ▲ the IP transaction, commercialization and financial activation, etc.
On January 4, 2026, MOIP Minister Yongsun KIM had an IP chief executive meeting with CNIPA Commissioner Shen Changyu, to discuss the two organizations’ IP policies and cooperation status and future key cooperation directions. In particular, the two sides agreed to jointly respond to malicious trademark applications to look to economic benefits by unjust enrichment by preoccupying a trademark in use by another person.
Minister Yongsun KIM said, “signing this MOU and strengthening the cooperation to prevent malicious trademark use by being preoccupied are expected to contribute to effective protection of K-brands in China…We will continue to strengthen the international cooperation in the IP field, to support Korean companies’ export expansion and overseas expansion.”
2. The Presidential Council on Intellectual Property (PCIP) published a ‘2024 annual report on the implementation of IP protection policies.’
- IP protection in the K-technology and content fields has become stronger.
- Punitive damages increased to 5 times the amount and the number of people arrested for violating the copyright law increased by 174% compared to the previous year, etc.
PCIP under the President (Co-Chairpersons: Pime Minister and Private Expert Kwanghyung LEE) published the ‘2024 annual report on the implementation of IP protection policies’ (hereinafter, referred to the ‘report’) summarizing the IP protection policies and their execution performance carried forwarded by the government during 2024.
This report includes the details of the key achievements of the establishment of a proactive prevention system pursued by the government and the improvement of reactive executive power, to respond to the rapidly changing technological environment and the evolving IP infringement.
① Enhancing the effectiveness of remedy for damages and strengthening the prevention of technology leakage
First of all, the Korean government has firmly prepared a legal foundation to fundamentally strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities to IP infringement.
The limit of punitive damages for the intentional infringement of a patent right and a trade secret and the theft of an idea has been raised from 3 times to 5 times the amount, to enhance the effectiveness of damage relief. In addition, the right to prohibit the misappropriation of technology data has been newly established, to eradicate theft of small and medium companies’ technologies, and an ‘industrial property information act’ has been enacted to strengthen the legal basis for preventing technology leakage related to national security.
② Increasing the violation crackdown performance in the copyright and patent fields
Visible results have been made in the protection enforcement and compliance fields.
According to the Korean National Police Agency, the number of people arrested for violating the copyright act was 40,153, showing a significant increase (174%) compared to the previous year. This is considered as a result that the government’s investigation of the zero-tolerance principle was reflected, such as the arrest of large-scale copyright infringement site operators, etc. In addition, a total of 1,040,986 cases for corrective recommendation (deletion, transmission stop, etc.) were implemented regarding online pirated content.
MOIP’s special judicial police for technology and design criminally charged 353 people in the technology and design infringement field, and the special judicial police for trademark successfully confiscated about 170,000 counterfeit products (about 13.4 billion Korea Won in genuine value).
③ Strengthening the proactive prevention and awareness-raising activities
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and Korea Copyright Commission (KCC) developed and distributed about 20 types of copyright remote learning content customized for each learning target, and MOIP started invention education in connection with Neulbom School (after-school care and education program) in 2024 to raise the IP awareness of the future generations. In addition, MOIP operated 10 IP-DESK (overseas IP centers) in 8 countries to protect Korean companies expanding overseas and support them with 12,632 consultations and 568 legal services.
The report will be distributed to the relevant ministries and IP-related institutions to share the Korean government’s IP protection policies and implementation results. The English version of the report will be distributed to foreign embassies in Korea, foreign chambers of commerce in Korea, IP-DESK, Korea cultural centers, etc., to inform and promote South Korea’s strong IP protection systems and policies.
PCIP Private Expert Kwanghyung LEE evaluated that 2024 was the year when visible results have been achieved in terms of protection enforcement, such as blocking the distribution of counterfeit products, improving the response capability against technology and copyright infringement, etc. LEE also said, “we will do the best to make the environment that people and companies can focus on creation and innovation with peace of mind.”
3. MOIP fully operates an ‘IP dispute doctor’ as a primary care provider for K-brand protection.
- Customized IP dispute prevention education was provided for K-brand export companies on site.
On January 23, 2026, MOIP announced that as part of its K-brand protection policies, it will go into full-scale field support of ‘IP dispute doctor’, to prevent IP disputes of companies expanding overseas.
MOIP installed an on-site booth as the K-food export support project presentation’ held in the Seoul Science and Technology Convention Center by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on January 23, 2026, to provide the participant companies with the education on how to prevent K-brand disputes and how to respond to counterfeit products.
According to the results of analyzing the Voice of Custom (VOC) operated by MOIP, Korean companies which export or plan to export have been repeatedly exposed to the risk of IP disputes, such as unauthorized registration of trademarks overseas, due to the lack of information of IP rights.
MOIP starts a customized education to strengthen Korean companies’ protection capabilities and to prevent unnecessary disputes overseas.
The ‘IP dispute doctor’ consists of IP expert lawyers and patent attorneys and it will proceed with education and consultation for Korean companies which plan to participate in overseas fairs by directly visiting the sites to provide them with a customized dispute prevention education considering their export target countries and their major product lines.
The ‘IP dispute doctor’ will guide the major types of counterfeit products, the latest distribution trends thereof, the ways to respond to malicious unauthorized registration of trademarks, etc., to be immediately used by company practitioners on-site. If necessary, it has a plan to provide a customized diagnosis through separate consultation and a solution through business support.
The director of the Intellectual Property Dispute Resolution Bureau of MOIP said, “counterfeit products and IP disputes are major factors affecting company value and export competitiveness…We plan to continue to expand support for ‘IP dispute doctor’ to protect Korean export companies’ K-brands, by cooperating with the relevant ministries, such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, and Ministry of SMEs and Startups, etc.”
4. MOIP, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) and the Korea Customs Service (KCS) respond to counterfeit products of K-beauty products.
- A director-general level meeting of the ‘council of relevant agencies for response to counterfeit cosmetics’ was held.
- The meeting was arranged to cooperate in protecting IP rights of K-cosmetics and in preventing companies’ damages caused by counterfeit products.
In the MFDS building, MOIP, MFDS and KCS held the meeting of the council of relevant agencies, to respond to counterfeit cosmetics. The director of the Intellectual Property Dispute Resolution Bureau of MOIP, the Bio-pharmaceuticals and Herbal Medicine Bureau of MFDS, the director general for Investigation of KCS, and the vice president of the Korea Cosmetic Association (KCA), among the others, attended the meeting.
As part of a plan to strengthen the K-beauty safety and quality competitiveness, which was announced at the 6th National Policy Coordination Meeting (November 27, 2025) chaired by the Prime Minister last year, the council of relevant agencies for response to counterfeit cosmetics was arranged to strengthen the government-private cooperation with KCA, to protect the IP rights of K-cosmetics which have been very popular around the world and to prevent companies and consumers from being damaged due to the distribution of counterfeit cosmetic products.
In the council meeting, the topics for discussion were as follows: ► monitoring the distribution status of counterfeit cosmetics overseas, ► introducing the anti-counterfeiting technology for K-cosmetics and expanding education for IP dispute doctor, ► blocking counterfeit cosmetics through information analysis at the customs clearance stage and strengthening cooperation with the customs offices of major overseas countries, and establishing plans to crack down on the distribution of counterfeit cosmetics in Korea and to strengthen consumer protection measures, etc. In addition, they discussed the need to conclude a business agreement to substantivate cross-ministry public-private partnerships and to establish a long-term cooperation system.
By operating a public-private cooperation system to respond to counterfeit cosmetics, MOIP, MFDS and KCS will continue to do their best to protect the brand value and reliability of K-cosmetics which are rising in status and to contribute to supporting export competitiveness.
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