Culture Ministry Shuts Down 3 Illegal K-Webtoon Sites, Operators Arrested in Vietnam

Industry Estimates Annual Damages at Approximately 207.2 Billion Won

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on June 12 that, through international cooperation with Vietnam’s Department of Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention (A05) under the Ministry of Public Security, it has shut down three illegal K-webtoon distribution sites that, according to industry estimates, caused approximately 207.2 billion won in annual damages, and arrested two operators.

The three sites that were closed are 'Hari***', 'Manhwa**', and 'Kun***'. The investigation found that suspects of Vietnamese nationality had operated these sites since January 2023, illegally translating Korean webtoons into English and distributing them to users worldwide, including across Asia, North America, and Europe. They also generated profits through banner advertisements on the sites.

The total number of webtoons distributed via these sites reached approximately 14,700, with K-webtoons accounting for about 70% of this content. The annual number of visitors to these sites amounted to 1.105 billion, and the industry estimates the resulting yearly damages at around 207.2 billion won.

Closed Hari*** service screen. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

The Ministry has strengthened public-private cooperation, including working with Naver Webtoon, to secure evidence and identify suspects in order to shut down illegal distribution sites. As overseas copyright infringement of K-content has become more severe, the Ministry has also continued to expand its response to large-scale illegal sites hosted on overseas servers.

In June last year, the Ministry began working-level meetings with Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security and Interpol, and in September, launched the Interpol International Cooperation Investigation (I-SOP) channel. In November, to further strengthen copyright protection and practical response to infringement of K-content, the Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on copyright protection cooperation with Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security. Since then, the Ministry has repeatedly provided information and supplementary materials on K-webtoon copyright infringement site operators to the Vietnamese authorities.

Based on this cooperation, the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security began verifying the suspects’ illegal activities in January this year. In March, a joint public-private delegation from Korea visited Vietnam to explain the seriousness of the case and discuss cooperation. With the Vietnamese government launching a special intellectual property enforcement period in early May, the investigation accelerated.

As a result, in mid-May, the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and Ho Chi Minh City police summoned and investigated two suspects on charges of intellectual property infringement in the digital environment. The authorities are still continuing their investigation and have seized the servers of the three illegal sites, shutting them down completely.

At the end of February, the Ministry and the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security also cooperated with Naver Webtoon and Kakao Entertainment to summon and investigate the operator of the illegal site 'Com**', which had around 100 million monthly visitors. At that time, the authorities shut down the site through measures such as securing a written commitment to prevent recurrence of infringement, properly indicating copyright holders, and removing illegal site links.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security plans to proceed with prosecution as soon as the investigation of the two suspects in this case is completed. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korea Copyright Protection Agency’s Vietnam Office, and Naver Webtoon plan to fully cooperate with the Vietnamese authorities’ requests, such as implementing copyright certification procedures, to ensure smooth local prosecution.

Minister Choi Huiyoung stated, "This case is significant in that it presents a successful model of public-private and international cooperation in responding to overseas copyright infringement of K-content. We will continue to strengthen international cooperation to combat illegal distribution of K-content and further solidify the overseas copyright protection framework so that the legitimate value of K-content is recognized worldwide."

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