South Korea shuts down 3 illegal K-webtoon sites in North Africa, arrests operator

South Korean authorities and Naver Webtoon have dismantled three major websites based in North Africa that were illegally distributing K-webtoons and web novels. The operation, a result of international cooperation involving Interpol and local North African law enforcement, also led to the arrest of one operator.

These websites, active since July 2024, targeted users in the United States and Europe. They directly scanned and translated paid content from official platforms into English, acting as primary distributors rather than mere relay sites. The scale of the operation was significant, with the sites distributing 83,688 pirated content pieces, including 30,926 K-webtoons and 5,202 web novels. K-content constituted about 57% of the total, with an estimated annual damage to the industry reaching 20 billion won (approximately $14.5 million USD).

Naver Webtoon works also suffered, with around 300 titles being illegally scanned and translated. Data from Similarweb indicated that the three websites combined had over 130 million annual visits. The investigation began in March when Naver Webtoon reported suspicious activity to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. This successful international operation marks the first major achievement for the ministry's copyright special judicial police, established on June 30.

Kim Jae-hyun, director of the ministry's cultural media industry division, stated, "We will strengthen cooperation with international organizations like Interpol and overseas investigative agencies and communicate closely with domestic industries to do our best to protect K-content copyrights."

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We will strengthen cooperation with international organizations like Interpol and overseas investigative agencies and communicate closely with domestic industries to do our best to protect K-content copyrights.