Discussion of Certification Marks to Relieve Consumer Distrust for Parallel Imports

This paper reviews the background of parallel importation and investigates the system of Korean customs certification mark for parallel imports affecting parallel marketing activities to provide a practical framework for marketing managers. Further, it discusses the system’s limitations and offers suggestions for improvement. In order to make consumers feel confident in purchasing parallel imported goods, the Korean government implemented the custom certification mark system to attach the QR code sticker to such goods. This QR code, as a certification mark, proves that the goods were properly customs cleared. However, the average inspection rate is not so high for imported goods declared at Korean customs, making it difficult to detect all the counterfeits. Thus, consumer should be aware of limits that the certification mark is not a perfect guarantee of genuineness of parallel imported goods.