On August 12, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that it had shut down "Yubin Archive," the largest domestic Telegram channel for illegally sharing paid educational materials such as workbooks and lecture videos, and had arrested its operator.
Yubin Archive was a Telegram channel that, since July 2023, illegally duplicated and distributed expensive study materials?including paid textbooks from major academies, video lectures, mock exam resources, and law school materials?primarily targeting exam takers. The channel is accused of seriously infringing on the rights of copyright holders by illegally sharing over 16,000 educational materials with approximately 330,000 participants.
The key operator of Yubin Archive, who was apprehended, had claimed in anonymized media interviews that the illegal sharing of study materials was a righteous act aimed at alleviating educational inequality. However, it was found that, behind the scenes, the operator created a separate paid sharing channel (known as a "minor channel") to generate profit.
Police are conducting a search and seizure at the scene in connection with the arrest of the operator of Yubin Archive. Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
In particular, the operators took extensive measures to avoid detection by forming a thoroughly anonymous, cell-structured organization. Since 2023, they created season 1, 2, and 3 sharing channels and frequently recruited new staff, operating in a systematic and organized manner. In response, the Copyright Crime Forensic Investigation Team of the Ministry used digital forensic techniques and a variety of investigative methods to identify the key operator and, through simultaneous search and seizure operations at the operator's residence and other locations, secured comprehensive evidence of the Telegram-based criminal activities.
The Ministry stated that, in addition to the arrested operator, it plans to expand its investigation to include exam takers who uploaded study materials to Yubin Archive’s tip-off channel, depending on the scale and extent of their involvement. For those who simply disseminated materials, the Ministry has taken steps to improve copyright awareness by posting warning messages in the relevant sharing channels.
Jung Hyangmi, Director of Copyright at the Ministry, stated, "Copyright infringement in online spaces undermines the efforts of creators and constitutes a serious crime that destroys a healthy content industry ecosystem. The Ministry will continue to thoroughly track and strictly respond to illegal activities that exploit anonymous channels like Telegram, in order to protect the rights and interests of creators."
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