Seoul: Nearly 85 per cent of the counterfeit goods seized by South Korean customs authorities in the first half of this year originated from China, data showed on Thursday.

The value of these fake goods, uncovered between January and June, totalled 93.4 billion won ($68.6 million), with 83.6 per cent, or 78.1 billion won, from China, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service (KCS) submitted to the National Assembly.

In comparison, 95.4 per cent of all counterfeit goods seized last year, valued at 354.1 billion won, also came from China, reports Yonhap news agency.

Among the forged brands in the first half, French luxury brand Chanel topped the list, with counterfeit items worth 48.7 billion won, accounting for 52.1 per cent of the total. Goyard followed with 7.5 billion won, while Louis Vuitton and Gucci were also among the top brands targeted.

By item, bags were the most frequently counterfeited, with a total value of 65.3 billion won, or 69.9 per cent, followed by garments at 19.6 billion won, or 21 per cent.

In April, the country said that high levels of chemicals known to cause cancer have been found in 38 products for kids available on the Chinese shopping apps of AliExpress and Temu for customers.

The KCS analysed 252 products for children selling on the two Chinese e-commerce platforms, such as toys and accessories for children. Of them, 27 products were found to contain phthalate plasticizer at levels up to 82 times greater than the South Korean safety standards.

Phthalates are banned from use in kid products as the chemicals are endocrine disruptors and exposure to them can cause cancer and other developmental issues.

Six of the 38 products had cadmium, which is classified as a Class 1 carcinogen, of levels up to 3,026 times larger than the standards, and five of the total were found to contain lead, according to the KCS.

(IANS)