The K-Beauty market is facing a significant escalation in counterfeiting issues, both domestically and internationally. This has prompted the Korea Intellectual Property Office and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to take action, recently uncovering brokers who imported counterfeit cosmetics and health supplements manufactured in China and sold them on online open markets like Coupang and Naver. The investigation revealed that approximately 83,000 counterfeit items worth around 4.5 billion won had been sold.
Internationally, the situation is equally alarming. Instances of counterfeit K-Beauty product listings blocked on overseas online platforms have surged from 16,774 in 2023 to over 36,116 in 2025. In the first half of this year alone, 20,370 such listings were intercepted in the beauty sector.
In Vietnam, the issue of cosmetics with unclear sources and trust in online distribution is emerging as a crucial management target. Local market regulatory authorities recently confiscated over 5,000 products advertised as ‘made in Korea’ but lacking legitimate import and distribution documentation. In the first half of this year, 9,000 non-compliant items were removed from e-commerce platforms, and 2,000 suspicious sellers were blocked.
In response to these escalated counterfeit challenges, global brand and commerce platform Kei.bio has initiated a 'distribution-based authenticity verification system.' This system expands the existing product verification framework, which was largely focused on brand dispatch and shipping information from postal services, to encompass the entire distribution process. The service is now available to both large enterprises and SMEs in South Korea.
The core of this system revolves around verifying authenticity through actual dispatch and logistics movements rather than relying solely on QR codes or security labels affixed to products. Brands and manufacturers must go through a registration process with Kei.bio, linking product SKUs and lot information to actual dispatch data.
Once products are dispatched, they are matched with real shipping invoices issued for over 1,000 courier services worldwide, allowing for the accumulation of logistics events from domestic receipt to international transport and final consumer delivery. This distribution history is recorded in real-time using W3C standards and Bitcoin timestamps.
Kei.bio aims to confirm not only who manufactured the products but also who actually shipped them, how they were transported, and the route they took to reach the end consumer. While a separate QR code can be applied to products, it is not the means of proving authenticity; rather, the QR serves as a tool for consumers to access business information, dispatch details, and distribution history easily. The integrity of verification hinges on the actual businesses, invoices, and logistic records connected to the product.
Key dispatch and distribution events will incorporate W3C-compliant verified credentials with optional Bitcoin timestamping to enable verification of when data was generated and whether it has been modified afterward. Each business and distribution participant's qualifications and credential data will apply W3C's Decentralized Identifier (DID) and Verifiable Credentials framework. This will allow consumers not only to check if a QR code opens but also to verify that the information is legitimate and hasn’t been tampered with.
The data hashes of significant dispatch and distribution events will be recorded separately using Bitcoin-based timestamping. This structure doesn’t make product information itself public on the blockchain but allows for independent verification of whether specific data existed prior to a defined point in time.
Beyond product verification, Kei.bio integrates direct sales capabilities for certified brands, enabling any business that completes the certification process to search for and register products to trade directly with foreign consumers. Domestic sellers can commence sales with as little as one registered product, supported by 13 system languages and over 150 global payment options.
To facilitate communication with customers, influencers, consumers, and buyers, Kei.bio provides multilingual communication channels along with live-streaming options and AI preset automation solutions. The company is also developing a reliable global financial payment infrastructure in Singapore, aiming to boost brand value through marketing matching with influencers, live sellers, and TikTokers in Southeast Asia.
Particularly, following the implementation of a new e-commerce regulation in Vietnam in July, which enhances platform operators' responsibilities for verifying seller identities, there's an increasing need for a structure that combines business accreditation with the distribution history of products. A representative from Kei.bio stated, “Whereas previous authenticity verification methods revolved around checking labels on products, moving forward, it will be essential to prove that the products were actually dispatched by the brand and follow legitimate distribution routes.” This system overhaul aims to extend the unit of authenticity verification from stickers to distribution history, incorporating brand logos, product designs, digital assets, and AI-generated information into the authentication framework.
