Police Agency, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Interpol Shut Down 34 Websites Infringing Copyright on Webtoons and More

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the 19th, the National Police Agency announced that, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), they shut down 34 illegal copyright infringement websites and arrested 207 individuals, including 47 site operators, as a result of a joint crackdown on copyright infringement illegal sites last year.

The detected sites included many webtoon sites that used overseas servers to post webtoons without authorization and distribute obscene materials, as well as illegal real-time (streaming) link sites distributing movies and broadcasts. The police specifically stated that they arrested operators of illegal sites that translated and massively distributed Korean webtoons overseas through international cooperation following an Interpol red notice. The police explained that this arrest was the first achievement realized through public-private cooperation involving webtoon companies, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Interpol.

Previously, the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced the "Government Joint Measures to Respond to Copyright Infringement" in 2018 to eradicate online copyright infringement. Since then, they have conducted joint crackdowns on illegal sites annually, and from last year, they signed a memorandum of understanding with Interpol for the "Online Copyright Infringement Response Project (I-SOP)" and have been responding jointly. The police stated, "Until now, alternative sites using overseas secure servers and bypass routes have continued to operate, making effective arrests or blocking difficult," but added, "Thanks to last year's memorandum of understanding, we were able to arrest overseas illegal site operators and shut down the sites."

This year, the police plan to select illegal streaming sites for movies, broadcasts, and Hallyu content, as well as webtoon sites, as key targets for crackdowns. They will focus investigative efforts on eradicating online crimes against Korean content through cooperative investigations, site blocking and shutdowns, and recovery of criminal proceeds. A National Police Agency official stated, "We will respond strictly by swiftly arresting criminals and recovering criminal proceeds through active international cooperation and cyber tracking techniques against acts infringing intellectual property rights that exploit the characteristics of cybercrime."