Musinsa has moved to crack down on fraudulent "label switching" practices. With related issues recently raised about some marketplace brands, the company plans to prepare strong countermeasures.

Musinsa said on March 11 through its official newsroom, "If we find a brand engaged in label switching, we will respond more firmly than before."

Label switching refers to replacing only the tag on another company's product that the seller did not make or commission, and selling it deceptively as an in-house product.

Musinsa said suspicions of label switching by some marketplace sellers were recently raised through online communities and customer inquiries.

Musinsa has launched an investigation based on its safe-trade policy. It is currently conducting an explanation process for the brands at issue. The company plans to hold them accountable, including terminating marketplace contracts, if policy violations or acts that deceive customers are confirmed.

Musinsa said it is preparing technical and institutional measures to address the issue. As an online sales intermediary under current law, it has limits in forcing a pre-shipment product inspection process before marketplace brand products are delivered to customers after sale. It said supplementary measures are needed to protect platform trust and the many partner brands.

It is first building an artificial intelligence (AI) "online inspection system". Using its own AI technology, the system will determine whether products are similar. The company expects the AI inspection system to be completed as early as next month.

Musinsa plans to conduct similarity reviews across all products currently sold online, totaling more than 1.2 million items, and move to constant monitoring.

For sellers where label switching suspicions are found, it plans to request explanations and immediately remove all products if wrongdoing is revealed. In particular, if a seller is found to have claimed during the onboarding review that products are self-made but in fact sold other companies' products through label switching, Musinsa will permanently restrict business across all its platforms, including Musinsa and 29CM.

If the scale of customer 피해 from sales of label-switched products is significant, it also plans to consider legal action, including criminal complaints.

A Musinsa official said, "It is Musinsa's responsibility to create an environment where customers can trust and buy, and a structure where marketplace brands can compete fairly without cheating, without relying on our role as an online sales intermediary." The official added, "We will continue to do our best to increase transparency in the fashion ecosystem through stronger policies and technical support."