KakaoPage Cracks Down on Illegal Webtoon Distribution... Wins 1 Billion KRW in Damages Lawsuit

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Kakao Page announced on the 7th that it won a lawsuit against the illegal webtoon distribution site 'Eoreunai.com'.

Kakao Page won all claims in the first trial against the three operators of Eoreunai.com and was awarded 1 billion KRW in damages.

The 62nd Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court recognized the operators' liability for damages to Kakao Page for infringing the plaintiff's copyright property rights (reproduction rights, distribution rights) by illegally downloading a total of 413 works and 26,618 episodes serialized on Kakao Page and Daum Webtoon from June 2017 to May 2019 and uploading them without permission on Eoreunai.com.

As the domestic webtoon market grows, the scale of damage caused by illegal distribution is also significant. According to Webtoon Guide, the damage to the webtoon market due to the proliferation of illegal webtoon distribution sites is estimated to be at least 190 billion KRW.

Kakao Page has continuously made efforts to eradicate illegal webtoon distribution sites and build a healthy ecosystem. In addition to this lawsuit, Kakao Page collaborates with the Copyright Overseas Promotion Association (COA) to block illegal webtoons and URLs exposed through search engines. It has also signed service contracts with specialized companies that monitor and handle illegal webtoon distribution, focusing on investigating the status of webtoon copyright infringement, continuously monitoring infringing posts, and reducing user inflow to illegal sites through deletion.

In October last year, Kakao Page formed the 'Webtoon Illegal Distribution Response Council' with domestic webtoon companies to seek joint responses to illegal distribution. The council plans to file lawsuits claiming damages against illegal site operators as joint plaintiffs when necessary.

Hwang In-ho, Vice President of Kakao Page, who is in charge of eradicating illegal webtoon distribution, said, "I hope the government and related organizations will actively join forces so that the K-Story industry can continue to grow as a future food industry of Korea," adding, "I believe that continuous and persistent approaches and cooperation between companies and the government are essential to eradicate illegal webtoon distribution."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.