"Effectiveness of Measures Against Illegal Webtoons Must Be Reviewed First"

Limited Effectiveness of Access-Blocking Measures by the Copyright Protection Agency
Proposal for AI Automatic Evidence Collection System Rejected

The Korea Digital Content Creators Association has urged the government to assess the effectiveness of its response to illegal webtoon and web novel sites. They argue that simply blocking access to such sites is insufficient, given that illegal distribution channels have become increasingly sophisticated, now spreading through social networking services (SNS), messenger apps, and illegal streaming platforms.

Introduction Video of Copyright Infringement Comprehensive Response System / Copyright Protection Agency.

On September 17, the association pointed out, "Even if one site is blocked, if the so-called balloon effect—where the site reappears under a new domain—is not detected quickly, it renders the actions essentially meaningless."

Since May of this year, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Copyright Protection Agency have implemented an emergency blocking system targeting large-scale copyright infringement sites based on overseas servers. This has led to some positive outcomes, such as the voluntary shutdown of "NewToki," the largest illegal webtoon site in Korea. However, establishing a system to fundamentally prevent recurring infringements remains an unresolved challenge.

During a forum in June, the association proposed an "AI automated evidence collection system" that uses artificial intelligence to automatically gather information about illegal sites—such as URLs, time of access, distributed works, and alternative domain names—to assist decision-making by relevant personnel. The Copyright Protection Agency, however, rejected the proposal, citing difficulties in allocating a budget for the same initiative.

Kim Donghoon, president of the association, emphasized, "The Copyright Protection Agency should not be preoccupied solely with the number of cases identified or blocked, but should instead present effective performance indicators that demonstrate how significantly illegal distribution volumes have been reduced." He also called for the active incorporation of on-the-ground technology and creators' perspectives, "to provide protection that is truly tangible to rights holders."

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