Kakao Entertainment Proposes Crackdown on Illegal Distribution in Japanese Manga Industry

Three Operators of the World's Largest Illegal Website Identified for the First Time

The photo is from the Korea Copyright Overseas Promotion Association (COA) - Japan Content Overseas Distribution Promotion Organization (CODA). Photo by Kakao Entertainment

Kakao Entertainment, as a leading Korean webtoon and web novel platform, announced on the 1st that it has proposed joint actions, including legal measures, to the Japanese manga industry against the world's largest illegal manga distribution site.

Kakao Entertainment participated in the Korea Copyright Overseas Promotion Association (COA) - Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) exchange meeting and workshop held in Tokyo, Japan, from the 28th of last month for three days, officially proposing joint legal action against three operators of the world’s largest illegal distribution site, the ‘M’ site, to the Japanese manga industry.

COA is an organization composed of leading K-content companies dedicated to protecting overseas copyrights of K-content, with Kakao Entertainment serving as the chair company. CODA is a leading Japanese association engaged in copyright protection activities, with 31 Japanese publishers as members. Attendees at the exchange meeting included Shueisha, famous for “One Piece,” “Naruto,” “Bleach,” and “Demon Slayer,” Kodansha, known for “Tokyo Revengers,” as well as Square Enix and Kadokawa. Kakao Entertainment was represented by Jang Han-gyu, Head of External Cooperation, and Kwon Young-guk, Deputy Head of the IP Legal Team, who also participated as a speaker.

The proposal for joint legal action against the M site was made during a session exploring cooperation measures between the Korean and Japanese manga industries. Over the past several years, Kakao Entertainment has compiled and databased direct and indirect information about illegal site operators left in global communities. Based on this data combination, they succeeded in identifying three operators, including the original founder of the M site.

If legal action against the M site proceeds, the global illegal distribution landscape is expected to change dramatically due to the enormous damage the M site has caused to the global manga industry. According to Kakao Entertainment, as of October 2023, the M site recorded over 15 billion page views (PV), illegally distributing about 20,000 Japanese manga works and 7,000 Korean manga works. It is estimated that over 10,000 illegal translation groups are involved.

Kwon Young-guk, Deputy Head of Kakao Entertainment’s IP Legal Team, stated, “The estimated global monthly damage caused by the M site, excluding cases such as secondary IP creations, is approximately 3 trillion KRW based on views and rental fees per episode. This is why shutting down the M site has been a long-standing wish of the global manga industry.” He added, “After years of persistent tracking, Kakao Entertainment has identified the operators and laid the groundwork for practical and effective actions.”

The exchange meeting also introduced the current status of global illegal manga distribution and various countermeasures and strategies led by Kakao Entertainment. These include blocking illegal posts through monitoring global portal sites like Google and social networking services (SNS), undercover investigations to shut down overseas illegal translation group communities and illegal sites, and website closures supported by global cooperation. Attention was also drawn to precautions in responding to illegal distribution.

Deputy Head Kwon emphasized, “One-time reports or warnings against illegal sites may have temporary effects but tend to encourage the migration of illegal distribution routes to more covert channels such as domain changes or SNS. Kakao Entertainment is focusing on systematic tracking and response, including preemptive measures, to fundamentally block illegal distribution routes of individual sites.”

Meanwhile, Kakao Entertainment received the Director’s Award from the Korea Copyright Protection Agency on the 1st of last month in recognition of its active efforts to eradicate online illegal content distribution. Jang Han-gyu, Head of External Cooperation at Kakao Entertainment and chairperson of the Korea Copyright Overseas Promotion Association, said in his congratulatory speech at the exchange meeting, “Korean and Japanese content share the commonality of being hugely popular worldwide. I believe there are many areas where our two associations can collaborate. We hope to strengthen exchanges and actively cooperate to achieve fruitful results.”