【Sejong, Sout】Government Aims to Transform Jewelry Industry Plagued by Under-the-Table Deals and Counterfeits into High-Value-Added Sector

The government is moving to enact a support law to systematically assist the jewelry industry, which suffers from chaotic trade practices including opaque transactions and the distribution of counterfeit goods.
According to industry sources on the 12th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) recently commissioned a research project on the current state of the jewelry industry and plans for its legal framework to foster its transformation into a high-value-added industry.
MOTIE judged that the jewelry industry has significant growth potential as a high-value-added sector due to its linkages with design, manufacturing, and marketing.
However, there have been persistent calls for establishing a systematic legal support system, citing the industry’s fragmented structure and lack of an institutional foundation.
Despite South Korea’s globally recognized craftsmanship and design capabilities, the industry has failed to develop into a high-value-added sector due to inadequate institutional support.
In particular, opaque and illegal transactions in the manufacturing and distribution processes have led to widespread tax evasion and money laundering, while consumer damage from counterfeit goods continues to occur frequently.
In reality, foreign luxury jewelry brands have entered the domestic market, generating annual sales of approximately 1.8 trillion won and encroaching on the high-end jewelry market.
Therefore, prior to enacting a jewelry industry support law, MOTIE plans to analyze the industry’s ecosystem through this research project and confirm the linkage between industrial promotion and legislation.
First, it will analyze the value chain structure and characteristics of the jewelry industry, covering manufacturing, processing, and distribution, and conduct a survey on market size, business types, employment status, and regional distribution.
Subsequently, it will examine the correlation between the institutional support needed for industrial growth and the enactment of laws, and compare systems with similar industries domestically and internationally.
MOTIE intends to use the research results as foundational data for establishing laws and systems to promote the jewelry industry.
In the National Assembly, several bills for a Jewelry Industry Promotion Act have already been proposed, primarily by the Democratic Party of Korea.
Bills proposed respectively by Democratic Party lawmakers Kwak Sang-eon, Kim Dong-ah, and Oh Se-hee focus on fostering the jewelry industry as a key export sector and formalizing the industry by introducing a business registration system for jewelry manufacturing and distribution to block opaque transactions.
They also include provisions to establish a legal basis for formulating basic and implementation plans for jewelry industry promotion, as well as supporting the industry and nurturing its workforce.