40,000 K-Content Illegal Streaming Sites, Their Trail Traced

Ministry of Culture and Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office Arrest KBUTV Operator

A site that illegally streamed about 40,000 K-content items in real time was caught.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 9th that, together with the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, it investigated 'KBUTV,' shut down the site, and sent three operators to prosecution without detention as suspects.

The suspects operated servers overseas and illegally streamed 40,000 domestic movies, dramas, and entertainment programs in real time. They also lured unspecified users who accessed the site through banner ads to gambling sites. They collected approximately 2.7 billion KRW in criminal proceeds by charging site production, management, and advertising fees from the gambling site operators.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism conducted IP tracking, international cooperation with the United States, and joint raids at crime scenes. They apprehended three suspects who were evading tracking by using burner phones and fake bank accounts.

The Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office participated in the investigation. Five additional individuals, including the mastermind, programmers, and account lenders, were arrested. On the 3rd, indictments were filed against eight people on charges including copyright infringement. Last month, the Ministry also shut down an illegal web novel sharing site through a joint investigation with the Daejeon Prosecutors' Office.

Jung Hyang-mi, Director of the Copyright Bureau at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, "Through organic cooperation, we achieved the result of completely eradicating not only copyright infringement sites but also related online gambling sites." She added, "Although copyright infringement crimes are becoming more sophisticated with overseas servers, virtual private networks (VPNs), and international money laundering, we will protect creators' legitimate rights by cooperating across ministries and strengthening international joint investigations."