The Suminoe oyster, Crassostrea ariakensis, occurs in estuaries where rivers meet seawater. In Korea, it is one of the most popular fisheries resources in the Nam River and Sumjin River. However, the genetic identification of this species has been questioned, because specimens are often mis-identified as other species. To identify the species, we conducted polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the internal transcribed spacer-1 (ITS-1) region, followed by digestion with the restriction enzyme HaeIII. Restriction profiles for oysters collected from Korea, Japan, and China (north and south) were determined by comparing the PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns of the ITS-1 regions. Our study verified that the oysters collected from Korea were C. ariakensis based on the PCR-RFLP patterns. These results emphasize the value of molecular markers for identifying morphologically uncertain species.