Gang involved in illegal distribution of Korean content in China earns billions, receives suspended sentence

795 Korean Dramas and 2127 Variety Shows Illegally Distributed
Chinese Court Rules "Copyright Infringement" ... Confiscates Profits, Imposes Fines and Suspended Sentences

'Squid Game' Illegally Distributed on Over 60 Chinese Websites. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Chinese judicial authorities have sentenced a group that illegally distributed Korean dramas and variety shows, earning hundreds of millions of won in profits, to suspended prison terms.

According to the official Weixin account of the Jiangsu High Court on the 9th, the Jiangyin People's Court sentenced five individuals indicted for creating an illegal smartphone application (app) that allowed free viewing of Korean dramas and variety shows from July 2019 to August 2020 and collecting advertising fees. Depending on the severity of their crimes, they received suspended prison sentences ranging from 1 year and 3 months to 3 years. Additionally, their illegally obtained income was confiscated, and fines ranging from 130,000 to 1,190,000 yuan (approximately 224 million KRW) were imposed.

The Korean content they illegally distributed included 795 dramas such as "Crash Landing on You" starring Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin, "The Legend of the Blue Sea" starring Lee Min-ho and Jun Ji-hyun, and "Hotel Del Luna" starring Lee Ji-eun and Yeo Jin-goo, as well as 2,127 episodes of popular Korean variety shows like "Running Man," "Please Take Care of My Refrigerator," and "King of Mask Singer."

The advertising revenue earned through this amounted to 2.21 million yuan (approximately 416 million KRW). The app is reported to have imitated the Chinese smartphone app "Hanju TV," which illegally streams Korean dramas and variety shows to Chinese users.

The court stated, "They transmitted video works to the public via the internet without the copyright holders' permission for profit," and ruled that "their actions constitute copyright infringement."

Meanwhile, in China, official distribution of Korean content has been virtually banned since the "Hanhanryeong (Korean Wave Restriction Order)," but popular works continue to be illegally distributed through so-called "dark channels." The latest content aired in Korea is sometimes uploaded to illegal sites with Chinese subtitles within a day, and it is estimated that there are hundreds of Chinese internet sites and smartphone apps where illegally distributed content can be viewed.

Last year, the globally popular Netflix Korean original series "Squid Game" was illegally distributed on more than 60 Chinese sites despite Netflix services not being supported in China. This year, the ENA channel drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" was also illegally distributed within China, prompting the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to request cooperation from the Chinese National Copyright Administration regarding copyright infringement and legal distribution.

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