[2022 National Audit] The Movie 'Singkeuhol' Most Deleted Due to Illegal Distribution

'Witch part2', 'Mogadishu', 'Busanhaeng' and others also suffer significant damage
Number of detections increasing but deletion rate sharply declining

This year, the Korean film most frequently removed due to the 'Online Illegal Distribution Copyright Protection Measures for Films' was Sinkhole.

According to the '2022 Survey on the Actual Condition of Online Illegal Distribution of Films and Copyright Protection Measures Interim Report' by the Korean Film Council, disclosed on the 12th by Yoo Jeong-ju, a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee (Democratic Party), 110 Korean films were released and distributed from March 21 to July 31. Among the eighty films released online, seventy-six, accounting for 95%, were illegally distributed.

Films such as Mogadishu, Train to Busan, and BLACKPINK The Movie were frequently detected for illegal distribution on major overseas websites. The Korean films deleted after monitoring were most numerous in the order of Sinkhole, The Witch: Part 2, Mogadishu, Train to Busan, and #Alive.

In the Greater China region, the latest films were illegally distributed on websites, while older films were distributed illegally via apps and set-top boxes. Korean films frequently detected on websites included #Alive, Hitman, and Train to Busan. On apps, films such as Hot Blooded, Big Match, and Roaring Currents suffered significant illegal distribution, while on set-top boxes, Roaring Currents, Stress Zero, and Hot Blooded were notably affected.

Illegal distribution through closed social networking services (SNS) such as Facebook, Telegram, and Band also surged, with 3,075 cases detected this year alone. Due to the closed nature of these platforms, mainly recent releases like The Witch: Part 2, In Our Prime, and Special Delivery were leaked.

The Korean Film Council conducts the 'Survey on the Actual Condition of Online Illegal Distribution of Films and Copyright Protection Measures' upon application from production companies to respond to infringement acts. When illegal videos are confirmed, the host videos are tracked and deleted to prevent further spread.

In 2018, 53,105 cases of illegal distribution of Korean films were confirmed. The Korean Film Council deleted 50,856 cases, accounting for 95.8%. Last year, 255,781 cases were detected, but the deletion rate was only 70.7% (180,950 cases). This year, up to last month, 243,241 cases were found, but the deletion rate remains at 53.3% (137,019 cases).

Assembly member Yoo stated, "95% of films released online are distributed in illegal markets," adding, "If production companies do not apply for copyright protection measures, monitoring and legal action become difficult. Measures to include small and medium-sized production and distribution companies as subjects of the project should be considered."

He further emphasized, "Current law does not regard infringement through link sites as copyright infringement," and stressed the need to promptly review amendments to the Copyright Act that include the act of publicly sharing or linking illegal link sites as copyright infringement, thereby expanding the scope of copyright infringement acts.

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