Chinese Instructor Arrested and Prosecuted for Unauthorized Overseas Broadcast of Korean Content Over 6 Years

Ministry of Culture Collaborates with Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office to Investigate and Indict Two Chinese Offenders

Broadcast transmission equipment seized from a group uncovered through a joint investigation by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office. Photo by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] As K-Hallyu content such as 'Squid Game' gains global popularity, the government has launched efforts to eradicate crimes that hinder the sustainable growth of the content industry amid increasing cases of intellectual property (IP) infringement through illegal broadcasting.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 25th that, through a joint investigation with the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, two Chinese nationals who illegally broadcast Korean broadcasting content worldwide for six years have been booked.

Among them, one defendant arrested in Korea was indicted while in custody. The accomplice who remotely managed the broadcasting transmission equipment in China is undergoing extradition procedures after the prosecution secured evidence through supplementary investigation.

This arrest is the result of public-private cooperation involving the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, and Korean Broadcasting System (KBS). The Ministry’s Special Judicial Police and the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office’s Patent Crime Investigation Division worked organically from the start of the investigation through search and seizure to detention.

The investigation outcome is significant as the first achievement in apprehending domestic distributors of EVPAD amid growing social consensus on regulatory measures, such as the ban on EVPAD distribution and the need for legislation to crack down on illegal IPTV, raised during last year’s comprehensive audit by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

The arrested distributors had, since 2016, equipped dozens of satellite broadcast receivers (set-top boxes) and broadcasting transmission equipment in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, and illegally transmitted real-time broadcast footage of domestic regular broadcasts such as KBS and Yonhap News TV, as well as 28 general programming channels overseas without contracts with copyright holders or content usage agreements.

A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official stated, “We will continue to collaborate with broadcasters to swiftly apprehend other illegal broadcasting distributors operating domestically. We plan to focus investigative efforts on eradicating online crimes, including promoting international joint investigations against acts infringing intellectual property rights that exploit the borderless nature of online crime.”