Earlier this month, the Daejeon District Court Criminal Appellate Division upheld the original sentencing of Mr. A, the operator of Ajitun, one of Korea’s most notorious webtoon and web novel piracy websites.
According to the Korean media outlet News1, he’ll serve a two-year prison sentence and pay a 71.49 million won (~$50k) fine. In theory, Mr. A could appeal to the Supreme Court, however, this is reserved for disputes over the interpretation of the law, rather than specifically reducing a sentence (Yonhap). Mr. A has already admitted to wrongdoing.
Both Mr. A and the prosecutors seeking his sentencing will likely be dissatisfied. Daejeon Ilbo reported last month that prosecutors were seeking a five-year sentence, asking the court to consider the severity of his crime and the impact on the industry. Prosecutors accused him of infringing on the copyrights of “2,509,963 web novels and 746,835 webtoons,” pocketing 121.5 million won ($84k) from illegal advertising, including from gambling and prostitution. 50 million won ($35k) was confiscated following Mr. A’s arrest.
In an X (formerly Twitter) post from last September, Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) called Ajitun the “top domestic web novel illegal sharing site,” having seized the website the previous month. Major Korean entertainment companies, including Kakao Entertainment, Naver WEBTOON, Lezhin, and Toomics, had submitted a petition calling for a strict punishment (via Nate News).
In the build-up to the appeal decision, Mr. A, aged in his 40s, said he’d “obey any ruling and live in atonement,” but asked for leniency given his children were entering school. His defense team said, “At the time, the defendant was suffering from pulmonary thromboembolism and heart failure, and he committed this crime in order to support his Chinese wife and two young children.“
Mr. A was indicted alongside an accomplice in China; his defense team added that Mr. A’s role in Ajitun was minimal in comparison, and “the site in question had less damage or impact compared to similar sites of the same type, so please take that into consideration.” Mr. A had previously been handed a suspended sentence for a similar crime in 2019.
The sentencing, lauded as a major win for Korea’s anti-piracy efforts, comes as the country attempts to secure the future of its promising K-content industry. Following the arrest of the operator of Noonoo TV, a major piracy streaming website, Interpol special officer Hong Seong-jin promised to make pirates “pay the price” for their actions. He said this after being awarded by the MCST for his anti-piracy efforts and warned, “If we leave the underground market alone, it will lead to the collapse of the Korean Wave.” The Korean government recently announced a $100 million fund to boost its animation industry, aiming to produce content for older audiences and streaming services, and to promote international cooperation.
Source: News1
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