"'Illegal Viewing of 'Woo Young-woo' in China'... Ministry of Culture Discusses Copyright with China"

May 5 Korea-China Government Online Meeting on Copyright
Request to China's National Copyright Administration to Promote Legal Content Distribution

Drama 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo'. Photo by ENA

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] As cases of illegal viewing of the ENA channel drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" (hereinafter "Woo Young-woo") increase in China, the government is taking measures to respond to copyright infringement of our content within China.

On the 5th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held the "16th Korea-China Governmental Meeting on Copyright" online with the China National Copyright Administration, presenting the case of "Woo Young-woo" and planning to request cooperation from the Copyright Administration for responding to copyright infringement and promoting legal distribution.

This is a response to the recent series of issues raised regarding illegal viewing of "Woo Young-woo" in China.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the China National Copyright Administration have held the "Korea-China Governmental Meeting on Copyright and Copyright Forum" annually under the "Memorandum of Understanding on Copyright Exchange and Cooperation" signed in 2006. The meetings were suspended for the past two years due to COVID-19 but recently agreed to resume the forum.

At this meeting, legislative trends in copyright laws of both countries in the digital era and current responses to online copyright infringement will be shared. Additionally, the "16th Korea-China Copyright Forum," hosted by the Korea Copyright Commission and the China Copyright Protection Center, will be held.

At the forum, under the theme "New Challenges Faced by Copyright in the Online Platform Environment," the legal and institutional trends of both countries and strategies for the co-growth of the copyright industry will be examined and opinions exchanged.

Professor Lee Cheolnam of Chungnam National University Law School will review the roles and responsibilities of Online Service Providers (OSP) in the online platform environment, as well as copyright issues within Non-Fungible Token (NFT) platforms and extended virtual worlds (metaverse).

Director Liu Xiaochun of the Internet Rule of Law Research Center at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Director Zhalei of the Legal Sharing Center at China Mobile Migu Corporation will present on copyright systems, amended laws, and related precedents in the Chinese online environment.

Senior Researcher Chen Meng of Tencent Research Institute will explain industry-specific issues in the Chinese online platform environment, and Kim Hyunsook, Director of Policy and Legal Research at the Korea Music Content Association, will share key issues across the Korean copyright industry, focusing on the music industry.

A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official said, "This year marks the 30th anniversary of Korea-China diplomatic relations, making this meeting a meaningful occasion to further expand cooperation in the copyright field between the two countries," adding, "We hope both countries can explore systems suitable for the online platform environment and directions for the development of the copyright industry."