Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Establishes 'Copyright Special Judicial Police Division' to Combat Copyright Infringement

A dedicated investigation unit will be established under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to take strong action against copyright infringement, including the illegal distribution of K-content.
The Ministry announced that the amendment to the "Enforcement Decree on the Organization of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and its Affiliated Agencies," which includes the creation of the "Copyright Special Judicial Police Division," passed the Cabinet meeting today (June 23) and will take effect on June 30.
Along with the establishment of the new division, the number of personnel dedicated to copyright protection will be increased by eight.
The Ministry's special judicial police force for copyright, which investigates copyright infringement crimes, was first introduced in 2008.
In October 2023, the force was reorganized into the "Copyright Crime Scientific Investigation Team" within the Copyright Protection Division under the Copyright Policy Bureau, consisting of four teams: the International Cooperative Investigation Team, the Planning Investigation Team, the Domestic Crime Investigation Team, and the Investigation Support Team.
Considering that illegal content distribution often takes place using servers located overseas, the Copyright Crime Scientific Investigation Team has signed memoranda of understanding with law enforcement agencies in major countries and has been responding to the global online illegal copying of K-content.
As a result, the team achieved successes such as the shutdown and apprehension of operators behind major illegal sites, including the largest Korean illegal streaming site "NoNoTV" in 2024, the illegal webtoon site "Azitoon," and "Yubin Archive," the largest illegal distribution channel for study materials on Telegram, last year.
On June 11, the Ministry, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, the Prosecution Service, and the National Police Agency, successfully extradited the operator of an illegal manga sharing site who had naturalized in Japan.
In this regard, the Ministry stated that the newly reorganized Copyright Special Judicial Police will investigate the full scope of criminal methods and operational structures, and plans to thoroughly recover criminal proceeds.
The Copyright Special Judicial Police Division will also be responsible for: ▲ establishing and implementing investigation plans for copyright infringement crimes; ▲ collecting, analyzing, and managing domestic and international information related to copyright infringement; ▲ cooperating and coordinating with relevant domestic and international agencies for investigations; and ▲ cracking down on, collecting, disposing of, and deleting illegal copies.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young said, "The Copyright Protection Division had limitations in performing efficient copyright protection tasks because it combined the functions of copyright protection policy and direct investigation of copyright offenders." He added, "With a strengthened copyright protection organization, we will track down copyright infringers to the end to eradicate such illegal activities."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.