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 (about US$ 510,000 ) in ill-gotten gains. The ruling was made on May 26, 2025, by the Daejeon District Court in South Korea .
Pirated 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 such as Disney, Netflix, and Warner Bros.
Additionally, Mr. A managed TVWiki, a website known for circumventing court blocking orders 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 maintain his anonymity.
OKToon has infringed thousands of works
OKToon website , which focused on webtoon piracy, also shut down on November 9, 2024, the date of its operator's arrest. As revealed by the Illegal Webtoon Distribution Response Group, the platform infringed on approximately 10,000 volumes and, surprisingly, attracted 5.6 million visitors in September 2024 alone.
Companies such as Kakao Entertainment, WEBTOON, RIDI, Lezhin, and Toomics requested the maximum five-year sentence, arguing that piracy demotivates creators and harms the entire K-content industry. However, the court considered the defendant's confession and his criminal record when determining the sentence.
The fight against piracy continues in Korea
The case also highlights the ongoing challenge of combating digital piracy. The operator voluntarily shut down Noonoo TV, but Korean authorities disabled TVWiki and OKToon after his arrest.
Finally, keep up with the latest news from the world of anime and webtoons on AnimeNew, by following our official channel on WhatsApp and Instagram .
Source: Yonhap News
