"Swiss" Watch Crackdown!
Well the whole Vincent & Co. incident has pissed of somebody. According to the Korea Times the whole sector is due for a Korean "crackdown":
The National Police Agency (NPA) held a meeting yesterday joined by 60 senior officials, including the directors of external affairs and white-collar crime unit, to discuss the direction of the investigation into fake designer watches.
“Knock-off products or fakedesigner watches are certainly an increasing concern in the local market, as more customers spend on luxury products. It will be treated as a serious problem by the country’s law enforcement,” said NPA Commissioner General Lee Taek-soon, in a news briefing.
Apparently Vincent & Co. are not alone:
Police are also investigating the manufacturers of another fakedesigner brand, named “Gio Monaco,” who also promoted their watches as Swiss-made and distributed them to department stores and luxury shops in southern Seoul.
The creators of Gio Monaco watches have been fraudulently claiming that the brand has existed for 180 years in the Swiss watch industry, despite starting their business in Seoul less than five years ago.
I hope to see the authorities not only crackdown on fraudulently marked watches, but also fake brands in particular. As I mentioned before currently prices for grade A fake Rolexes in Iteawon are between US$65-100 (depending on volume). And I am sure they are not isolated in Iteawon.
However excuse me if I do not hold my breath. In the past two years I have seen "crackdowns" on corruption (which I think died with the head of the Uri party offering pardons to businessmen in exchange for support and the President pardoning his cronies) and prostitution (which as anybody walking the streets of Seoul, no pun intended, did not get far).
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home