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Louis Vuitton's IP executives visit Korea to present plaque to police for catching counterfeiters

Published: 23 Apr. 2026, 15:47 Updated: 23 Apr. 2026, 17:41

The head of Louis Vuitton's global intellectual property department, Valérie Sonnier, right, poses with the chief of police at the Seoul Seongbuk Police Precinct in northern Seoul on April 23. [SEOUL SEONGBUK POLICE STATION]

Louis Vuitton’s Paris headquarters presented a plaque of appreciation to Korean police on Thursday after investigators in Seoul dismantled a counterfeit ring that distributed imitation versions of the brand’s products.

The gesture, made in person by Valérie Sonnier, head of the brand’s global intellectual property (IP) department, and Mayank Vaid, intellectual property director for Asia Pacific and China, was unusual, with a foreign company’s headquarters rarely making a direct visit to a local police station in Korea to offer thanks.

The Seongbuk police in February arrested three people on suspicion of violating the Trademark Act after they allegedly distributed counterfeit luxury bags and other items made overseas through online and offline channels, including YouTube, according to the police station.

Police said they seized about 6,000 counterfeit items at the scene, worth roughly 12 billion won ($8.1 million) based on the retail prices of genuine products. Of those, about 1,700 items were fake Louis Vuitton goods, accounting for the largest share and carrying an estimated genuine retail value of about 3.4 billion won.

Louis Vuitton is said to have highly valued what it described as the decisive contribution the investigation made to protecting the company’s IP rights in Korea, and directly conveyed its appreciation to Seongbuk Police Precinct chief Kim Jeong-wan and the investigators involved.

Police are now expanding the investigation to online and offline retailers identified as accomplices in the case. Investigators are also tracing the criminal proceeds they allegedly earned.

“We will continue to crack down hard on those who manufacture and distribute trademark-infringing products in order to protect IP rights in Korea and establish market order,” a Seongbuk Police Precinct official said.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KO SEUNG-PYO [[email protected]]