Mocking Government Crackdown Efforts... 'Webtoon Illegal Distribution' Still Rampant

Despite Civil and Criminal Penalties for Bamtohki Operator, Offenses Persist
Damage Exceeds 300 Billion Won... Urgent Investigation Needed

Twitter account of 'Bamtokki,' the largest illegal webtoon distribution site in Korea

[Asia Economy reporters Seongpil Cho and Daehyun Kim] Although the government has shown a willingness to conduct regular crackdowns on illegal copyrighted materials, it has been confirmed that illegal webtoon sites are still rampant. The scale of illegal distribution is also growing, raising calls for effective measures such as investigations by the authorities.

According to a compilation of our coverage on the 19th, the number of illegal webtoon distribution sites reached a cumulative total of 258 last year, more than double the number in 2017. The damage scale had already exceeded 300 billion won (318.3 billion KRW) in 2019. Although the damage scale for last year has not yet been tallied, considering the rapidly increasing sales scale of the webtoon industry each year, the damage amount is expected to rise further.

Previously, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency, among other content authorities, launched the 'Webtoon User Awareness Improvement Campaign' in 2018 to eradicate demand for illegal distribution. Together with investigative authorities, they pushed for crackdowns on copyright-infringing websites, shutting down 25 illegal comic and webtoon sites and arresting 22 operators. In this process, the operator of 'Bamtokki,' the largest illegal webtoon distribution site in Korea, was arrested and prosecuted, receiving a prison sentence from the court.

Recently, civil damage compensation cases have also been increasing. Last month, the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 63-2 (Presiding Judge Taeil Park) ruled in favor of 50 webtoon artists in a damage compensation lawsuit against the operators of Bamtokki and others. The court determined that the operators must pay 3 million won per webtoon, totaling over 100 million won in compensation. In December last year, the same court’s Civil Division 62 (Presiding Judge Hojun Yeom) recognized the responsibility of the operators of Eoreunai.com for copyright infringement of works on KakaoPage and Daum Webtoon, ordering them to pay 1 billion won in damages.

Despite civil and criminal penalties, illegal activities continue to repeat. Recently, they have evolved, spawning various variants. In addition to illegal sites, millions of illegal webtoons are being posted through platforms like Google and Facebook. These sites do not require membership registration, show the latest comics to increase visitor numbers, and make money through densely packed adult and gambling advertisements.

The industry insists that a comprehensive investigation is urgently needed. A Korea Creative Content Agency official said, "Since similar sites continue to flourish, the authorities need to conduct investigations and crackdowns on them again." However, it is uncertain whether investigative authorities are currently conducting investigations. A prosecution official stated, "Unless the prosecution has indicted or the police have disclosed cases with complainants or accusers, we cannot confirm ongoing investigations."

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