Culture Ministry Arrests 'NunuTV' Operator: "P2P Users Also Accomplices"

Operator using self-developed data analysis tool caught evading investigation with specific VPN and overseas virtual assets
"Using P2P streaming for latest popular videos"

The operator of 'NunuTV,' the largest copyright infringement website in South Korea, has been apprehended.

The Copyright Crime Forensic Investigation Unit of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is obtaining statements from the operator of 'Nunu TV'.

On the 16th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that the Copyright Crime Scientific Investigation Unit conducted a comprehensive investigation last month into NunuTV and subsequent illegal websites 'TVWiki' and 'OKToon,' resulting in the operator's arrest and transfer to prosecution.

NunuTV was a website that posted K-content without authorization to promote gambling sites. Even after its closure in April last year, numerous similar sites emerged, demonstrating its significant impact. Notably, the operator expanded the scope of crimes to domestic webtoons by running TVWiki and OKToon after NunuTV's shutdown.

In July last year, the Ministry announced the 'Measures to Eradicate Illegal Distribution of K-Content' and apprehended the operator after one year and four months. They seized the domains of each site and changed the access routes to a 'Seizure Notice Page' to prevent unauthorized reproduction and transmission of copyrighted materials.

'TVWiki' administrator account confirmed by the Copyright Crime Forensic Investigation Unit of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

A representative of the Copyright Crime Scientific Investigation Unit explained, "Through investigations tracking finance, virtual assets, and communications, as well as server analysis and the development of our own data analysis tools, we were able to identify and apprehend the operator." They added, "At the seizure and search site, two luxury cars, a high-end watch, Bitcoin, and other items owned by the operator were confiscated as criminal proceeds."

The investigation involved the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, National Intelligence Service, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations Korea branch, Interpol, and overseas local investigative agencies. The Korea Copyright Protection Agency also supported the effort by securing and analyzing digital evidence.

The investigation initially faced difficulties because the operator maintained close ties with illegal gambling site organizations that generated criminal proceeds and established servers overseas. The crime methods were sophisticated enough to maintain the stability of illegal content through real-time traffic monitoring and Content Delivery Network (CDN) services, which rapidly distribute large content such as videos to many users via distributed servers.

'TVWiki' Google Search Related Management Tool Confirmed by the Copyright Crime Forensic Investigation Unit of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

The operator evaded investigation by using multiple Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), overseas credit cards, and foreign virtual asset exchanges. During the unauthorized reproduction and posting of works from legitimate domestic webtoon platforms, the operator also collected accounts from numerous unspecified users of official webtoon sites.

The Copyright Crime Scientific Investigation Unit confirmed during the seizure and search that peer-to-peer (P2P) streaming was applied on NunuTV and TVWiki. This technology indiscriminately distributes manipulated streaming video files stored on a user's personal computer to other users watching the same video on the illegal sites.

Vehicle of the operator of 'Nunubiti' seized by the Copyright Crime Forensic Investigation Unit of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

Jung Hyang-mi, Director of the Copyright Bureau at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, warned, "Especially for the latest popular videos with many users, P2P streaming was used to significantly reduce video transmission costs," adding, "Users unknowingly became accomplices by sharing copyrighted works without authorization."