Illegal Distribution Response Task Force (TF) Peacock Team
Blocked 10 Million Illegal Items Worldwide in One Year
Some Artists Suffered Mental Distress Leading to Quitting
"We Will Pursue Until Illegal Content Is Eradicated"
An Indonesian community site known for illegally distributing Korean webtoons. Approval for membership was granted just two days after answering detailed questions such as where the site was recommended. Although membership was successful, immediate access to posts was not allowed. One must accumulate various activity records first. It takes about a week to gain permission to view posts. Upon entering the illegal webtoon-related board, there was an address for a Telegram channel on the social networking service (SNS). Accessing Telegram, identity verification was conducted through various local slang terms used only in the area. After passing this, the site address where illegal webtoons were distributed was shared.
The ‘Avengers’ protecting Korean content have appeared. This is the Peacock Team, a task force (TF) for combating illegal distribution at Kakao Entertainment. Composed of five members, this team has blocked 10 million cases of illegal webtoons and web novels worldwide over the past year.
On the 27th, we met Jeno, Hani, Jaina (pseudonyms), and PD Kwon Young-guk from the Peacock Team at the Kakao Entertainment building in Pangyo, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province. They agreed to the interview under pseudonyms, fearing difficulties in future investigations if their identities were revealed.
Illegal Content Spread Worldwide... Undercover Investigations to Eradicate It
Kakao Entertainment formed the Peacock Team in 2021. Peacock (P.CoK) is an acronym derived from ‘Protecting the Contents of Kakao Entertainment.’ Kakao’s webtoons and web novels began gaining global popularity starting in 2018. As copyright infringement incidents occurred worldwide, the company recognized the need for a dedicated organization to handle this.
PD Kwon, who has been handling copyright infringement issues since 2016, said, “Illegal distribution, which mainly took place on illegal sites, began to occur across platforms like Telegram and TikTok in multiple languages worldwide,” adding, “The Peacock Team is composed of members with a high understanding of local languages and cultures, enabling them to infiltrate and detect any dark channels.”
As the popularity of Korean webtoons rises, the scale of the illegal distribution market specializing in them is also growing. The methods of illegal distribution are becoming increasingly sophisticated, with some areas beyond the reach of AI systems designed to detect them. This has made the role of the Peacock Team even more crucial.
Jeno explained, “We have to study the slang used in illegal distribution locally and newly emerging platforms every day,” adding, “Recently, in the Greater China region, there is a trend of recording webtoons as videos and sharing them on short video platforms, riding the wave of TikTok’s popularity.”
Undercover investigations are also essential. Members conceal their identities and first join public communities, then receive shared access routes to illegal distribution communities. Hani said, “For closed communities, passwords shared from other private communities are required,” adding, “A deep understanding of local culture is important to infiltrate private communities.”
Thanks to these efforts, from November 2021 to November last year, 9,237,802 illegal items were blocked. In Indonesia, a total of 206 Telegram groups were shut down. In the Greater China region, 70,680 illegal items were blocked between December last year and February this year.
Creators Frustrated by Illegal Distribution... Some Declare Retirement
Blocking illegal distribution provides great comfort to creators. PD Kwon said, “Creators pour their heart and soul into their work for a whole week, but it is illegally distributed within 10 minutes domestically and within three days overseas.” Illegal distribution often severely diminishes creative motivation. PD Kwon added, “This drastically lowers creative motivation, causing some creators to seek psychiatric treatment or even declare retirement, which makes us feel a great sense of responsibility.”
It is also directly related to creators’ livelihoods. Creators earn revenue based on views recorded on official platforms. However, when illegal content is distributed, view counts drop significantly. According to a survey by the Korea Creative Content Agency, the estimated damage caused by illegal webtoon distribution in 2021 was about 548.8 billion KRW. As the popularity of Korean webtoons and web novels continues to rise year by year, and illegal distribution channels become more underground, the damage is estimated to far exceed this amount.
The Peacock Team is also actively conducting awareness campaigns to eradicate illegal distribution. Recently, they conducted in-depth interviews directly with operators and users of illegal sites in Indonesia as part of their efforts. These individuals showed changed attitudes by taking and posting certification photos online declaring, “We will no longer distribute or consume illegal content.”
Although the Peacock Team operates globally, challenges remain. Copyright laws and awareness differ by country, making support from the Korean government crucial.
PD Kwon said, “Catching operators is important to shut down domestic illegal sites,” adding, “It is difficult to track them because domains are overseas, but if judicial authorities maintain continuous interest, they can definitely be caught. Sometimes, it is frustrating.”
He continued, “Domestic copyright-related policies are scattered across multiple agencies, making it difficult for those needing copyright protection to know which agency to approach,” emphasizing, “I hope agencies are unified or at least have clearly defined roles.”
The Peacock Team, which published the first and second global illegal distribution response white papers sharing last year’s achievements and know-how, plans to release the third white paper in the first half of this year.
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