The operator of the pirate websites Noonoo TV , TVWiki , and OKToon (Webtoon) was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to forfeit 700 million won (approximately US$ 510,000 ) in illicit gains. The decision was made on May 26, 2025, by the Daejeon District Court in South Korea .
Pirate Webtoon sites amassed billions of hits
Yonhap News has learned that the defendant — identified as “Mr. A” — is among the biggest pirates in Korean history. After all, the Noonoo TV website registered 67.44 million monthly visits in August 2022, according to the Motion Picture Association (MPA), which includes giants like Disney, Netflix, and Warner Bros.
Furthermore, Mr. A managed TVWiki, a website that stood out for circumventing court-ordered blocking measures in Korea. As detailed, he avoided blocks by constantly changing domains, such as tv52.wiki to tv58.wiki, and stored content on foreign servers, using VPNs and cryptocurrencies to remain anonymous.
OKToon violated thousands of works
OKToon website , focused on webtoon piracy, also shut down on November 9, 2024, the date of its operator's arrest. According to the Webtoon Illegal Distribution Response Group, the platform violated approximately 10,000 volumes and, surprisingly, attracted 5.6 million visits in September 2024 alone.
Companies such as Kakao Entertainment, WEBTOON, RIDI, Lezhin, and Toomics requested the maximum sentence of five years, arguing that piracy demotivates creators and harms the entire K-content industry. However, the court considered the defendant's confession and criminal record when determining the sentence.
The fight against piracy continues in Korea
The case also highlights the ongoing challenge in combating digital piracy. The operator voluntarily shut down Noonoo TV, but Korean authorities deactivated TVWiki and OKToon after his arrest.
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Source: Yonhap News