Large cat products marketed as "genuine" are appearing in bulk on South Korea's mainstream secondhand platforms. South Korea's Ministry of Environment acknowledged as early as 2016 that "online and private transactions are on the rise," and although it has since invested 44 million won to establish a dedicated online monitoring unit, prohibited items such as "genuine taxidermied tigers" and "real leopard pelts" remain easily searchable to this day. Experts are calling on the government to proactively screen online pages and posts and work with platforms to take down illegal listings.

Key Points

  • More than 50 relevant posts were found on domestic South Korean secondhand platforms, involving tiger pelts, leopard pelts, hawksbill and green sea turtle specimens, natural ivory, processed coral products, and shortfin mako shark specimens
  • Tigers, leopards, hawksbill sea turtles, and green sea turtles are all listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and South Korea has banned commercial trade in large Appendix I felids since 1994
  • According to 2016 data from South Korea's Ministry of Environment, 41 of the 83 CITES violations seized over the preceding three years involved online sales; the online monitoring project launched last year cost 44 million won

A used-car-sized price tag. That is the first thing that catches the eye. On a South Korean secondhand marketplace, a taxidermied tiger is listed at 7 million won, roughly $5,210, described by the seller as a "truly rare, genuine tiger." The product photos show an animal preserved head to tail, and the listing makes a point of stressing its authenticity — a marketing angle that reads as confidence rather than deception.

That post is not an outlier. A scan of major domestic resale platforms turned up dozens of similar listings offering processed goods derived from rare animals — tiger and leopard pelts, taxidermied sea turtles, natural ivory and more. The items are not sold in any dedicated or quarantined section; they sit alongside ordinary secondhand goods, indistinguishable in presentation from used furniture or electronics.

The legal backdrop is unambiguous. Tigers and leopards are listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known as CITES, the treaty's highest protective tier. Appendix I covers species threatened with extinction that are or may be affected by international trade, and commercial international trade in them is prohibited in principle. Within South Korea, commercial trade in large Appendix I felids has been banned since 1994.

Sea turtles found on the same platforms fall under the same regime. Some sellers went as far as naming the species — hawksbill sea turtle or green sea turtle — both CITES Appendix I. Other items identified in the listings included natural ivory, processed coral goods and a taxidermied shortfin mako shark.

Not every such transaction is automatically illegal. Exceptions exist for goods lawfully imported decades ago, or acquired before CITES rules took effect — but the seller must be able to produce documentation proving the item's legal origin. Even then, ownership does not equal freedom to sell.

South Korea's Act on Protection and Management of Wildlife requires anyone who purchases, transfers, receives, owns, possesses or displays an internationally endangered species — or processed goods derived from one — to retain documents proving how the item was lawfully obtained. Transferring a CITES-listed species legally imported into the country requires separate notification to authorities before the transaction, plus supporting documents such as an import permit. A tiger mounted on a wall, in other words, cannot be handed over like an ordinary antique. Paperwork is required.

None of it was visible. Among the more than 50 relevant posts examined, not a single listing mentioned CITES permits, the required notifications or any documentation of a lawful acquisition chain.

The phenomenon itself is not new. In May 2024, researchers from the Zoological Society of London's Institute of Zoology, University College London, the Korea Tiger Conservation Fund and Seoul National University published a study in the international journal PLOS ONE documenting the trade in large felid products in South Korea. By following up on cases flagged by experts, the researchers directly confirmed that products advertised as derived from large felids were openly sold across multiple domestic online marketplaces. Tiger and leopard pelts were repeatedly cited by experts as examples of domestic trade occurring after 1994.

One expert presented a case in which a seller attempted to list a leopard pelt on a well-known secondhand marketplace, claiming to have acquired it while working in West Africa. In all instances where a product's origin was indicated, it traced back to a foreign country — China, Thailand, Vietnam, Russia, Nepal, Kenya or Gabon.

Authorities were not in the dark. The Ministry of Environment — now the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy — acknowledged officially as far back as 2016 that "internet and private transactions are on the rise." At that time, 41 of 83 CITES-related violations detected over the preceding three years involved online sales. Since then it has unified its reporting system, promoted permit and notification procedures, and last year established a dedicated online monitoring unit for illegally distributed processed goods derived from internationally endangered species. The project cost 44 million won, and the National Institute of Ecology hired dedicated staff from September last year through February this year to run the unit and compile its findings.

And yet. Listings advertising "genuine taxidermied tigers" and "real leopard pelts" remain easy to find on domestic secondhand sites.

Experts point to active monitoring of online pages and posts, coupled with cooperation from secondhand platforms to remove illegal listings. The researchers recommended that the government "investigate online pages and posts selling products derived from tigers and other Asian large felids, and cooperate with relevant platforms to have them taken down." They added that regular monitoring should extend beyond publicly visible transactions to cover covert trade as well.

For anyone who suspects trafficking of wildlife products, reporting channels include the Environmental Sinmungo hotline, the People's Sinmungo portal, regional environmental authorities or law enforcement.

For the resale sector, the case carries a familiar lesson: platforms that blur the line between ordinary goods and regulated ones create a compliance vacuum that organized trafficking can occupy. The secondhand industry's own credibility is part of what is at stake.

Source: Tigers, leopards and sea turtles for sale: How South Korea's secondhand apps became a wildlife trafficking hub · Originally published 2026-10-07