Agitoon, largest illegal webtoon sharing site, shut down in government operation

The government shut down illegal webtoon and web novel-sharing site Agitoon and arrested its manager on Aug. 1.

Agitoon's manager being apprehended on Aug. 1. [MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM]

The government shut down illegal webtoon and web novel-sharing site Agitoon and arrested its manager on Aug. 1.

The arrest and investigation were part of a joint operation by the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, as part of the government's ongoing efforts to eradicate the illegal piracy of K-content.

According to the government, Agitoon was the largest illegal webtoon and web novel-sharing site. The site illegally hosted approximately 2.5 million web novels and 746,835 webtoons, according to the Culture Ministry. Agitoon is estimated to have generated 120 million won ($90,200) in the last six months through illegal advertisements for gambling, prostitution and more.

The site manager accessed the domain remotely from Latvian servers via a virtual private network (VPN) and the server fees were paid through a Chinese PayPal account, according to the ministry.

As of Aug. 1, the Culture Ministry has confiscated and shut down the Agitoon domain.

“Recent copyright infringement crimes are becoming more globalized and sophisticated, utilizing overseas servers, VPNs and international money laundering, among other tactics,” Jung Hyang-mi, Director General of the Copyright Bureau of the Culture Ministry, said Tuesday.

“The Culture Ministry will do its utmost to protect the legitimate rights of creators by cooperating with other government ministries and strengthening international joint investigations, even in difficult circumstances.”

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]