The First Copyright Protection Subject Is the Police Who Cracked Down on Illegal Websites

Korean Cartoonists Association, Naver Webtoon, and SLL Joongang, etc.

The police who prevented K-content copyright infringement crimes overseas will receive the Ministerial Commendation for Copyright Protection in the Republic of Korea.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Copyright Protection Agency will jointly hold the award ceremony for the Republic of Korea Copyright Protection Grand Prize and the Copyright Development Merit Awards on the 27th at the National Museum of Korea. Thirty-nine individuals and organizations will be awarded the Ministerial Commendation from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The Republic of Korea Copyright Protection Grand Prize was newly established this year. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism received candidate recommendations through a public contest in August and September. Contributions and social impact in copyright protection, content industry development, and national competitiveness enhancement were carefully evaluated. Eight individuals and organizations who have worked hard to protect K-content copyrights in music, video, publishing, software, webtoons, and comics were selected.

The awardees include Hong Seong-jin, an INTERPOL special officer who prevented K-content copyright infringement crimes in Indonesia, the Philippines, and the Americas through international cooperative investigations; the Korea Cartoonists Association, which improved systems to prevent illegal webtoon distribution; and Naver Webtoon, which blocked domestic and international illegal reproduction and distribution of webtoons using its self-developed technology "ToonRadar."

Also honored are SLL Central, which introduced a continuous copyright infringement monitoring system; Seo In-wook, CEO of Genie Music, who established a copyright conflict prevention system; Lee Seong-yeop, associate professor at Korea University Graduate School of Technology Management, who formulated mid- to long-term strategies including copyright protection policies in response to AI technology advancements; the Korea Broadcasting Performers’ Rights Association, which established a compensation system with the Spanish collective management organization AISGE; and Gye-Young T&I, which developed an AI model-based document security system.

The Copyright Development Merit Awards will be given to thirty-one individuals who contributed to copyright policy, copyright investigation and enforcement, and the copyright industry and trade sectors. Among them are Professor Choi Jin-won of Daegu University, who prepared a guide for the use of copyrighted works in extended virtual environments (metaverse); copyright education instructor Guseong-hee, who conducted over 1,400 "visiting copyright education" sessions at elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide; and Kim Min-jung, a prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office who investigated major copyright law violation cases.

Also recognized are Lee Jong-won, an investigator at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security who led investigations into copyright infringement sites in cooperation with the Korean government; and Park Hee-kyung, deputy director at Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, who facilitated a royalty collection agreement through mediation between music licensing organizations and broadcasters.

Minister Yoo In-chon of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated, "The efforts of the awardees have become an important foundation for protecting creators’ rights and realizing economic value. The Ministry will also strive to create a healthy copyright ecosystem through international cooperation to strengthen responses to overseas copyright infringement, support for the development of copyright protection technologies, and legal and institutional improvements to protect creators’ rights."