Kakao Entertainment, Naver Webtoon Win $1.4M Lawsuit Against Piracy Site

Kakao Entertainment and Naver Webtoon have secured a significant legal victory against the operator of “Ajitoon,” Korea’s largest illegal webtoon and web novel distribution site. The court awarded both companies 1 billion won (approximately $714,000) each, totaling 2 billion won in damages, recognizing the extensive copyright infringement perpetrated by the site.

“Ajitoon” illegally distributed around 750,000 webtoons and 2.5 million web novels before its operator was arrested in August 2024 following a joint investigation. The operator received a two-year prison sentence, which was upheld on appeal. The court’s decision was based on evidence presented by Kakao Entertainment, which estimated damages in the hundreds of billions of won.

Kakao Entertainment emphasized its commitment to protecting creators’ rights and will continue to actively combat piracy through its dedicated anti-piracy organization. The company has already removed over 1 billion illegal content files globally and will pursue both criminal and civil legal action against copyright infringers. Lee Ho-jun, Chief Legal Officer at Kakao Entertainment, stated that the ruling “recognizes both civil and criminal liability for large-scale copyright infringement.”

(Source：서울경제)