'Nunu TV' Operator Arrested…Luxury Cars, Watches, and Bitcoin Seized

The operator of 'Nunu TV', which illegally streamed domestic video content, has been arrested and indicted.

According to the Copyright Crime Investigation Division of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 16th, the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office recently brought the operator of Nunu TV, Mr. A, to trial while in custody.

The Copyright Crime Investigation Division, in cooperation with the prosecution, police, National Intelligence Service, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations Korea Office, and Interpol, arrested Mr. A on the 9th of last month. Along with the arrest, they seized the domains of illegal webtoon sites such as Nunu TV, TVWiki, and OKToon, and blocked access.

Additionally, two luxury vehicles, a high-end watch, and virtual assets including Bitcoin were seized as criminal proceeds.

Mr. A opened Nunu TV in 2021 and illegally streamed popular programs from domestic broadcasters and original content from domestic and international OTT platforms, earning revenue through illegal gambling and adult site advertisements. Despite being continuously detected and shut down, he repeatedly reappeared by changing domains, using servers in countries like the Dominican Republic and Paraguay to evade government crackdowns, causing controversy.

It was confirmed that Mr. A used multiple virtual private networks (VPNs), foreign credit cards, and overseas virtual asset exchanges to avoid tracking by investigative agencies. He also meticulously committed crimes by collecting official webtoon site accounts from unspecified individuals during the unauthorized reproduction and posting of works.

To maximize profits, he lowered video transmission costs by using peer-to-peer (P2P) streaming technology.

As Nunu TV became widely known, similar sites began to emerge.

The industry has analyzed that illegal streaming sites like Nunu TV have caused domestic OTTs such as Tving, Wavve, and Watcha to suffer operating losses of 400 billion won over the past two years. Additionally, the Copyright Council, composed of OTTs and broadcasters, claimed that the copyright damage caused by Nunu TV's illegal streaming amounts to about 4.9 trillion won.

In response, the Korea Communications Standards Commission stated in June this year, "We will continue to track and block copyright-infringing sites like Nunu TV," adding, "Although Nunu TV and others are creating alternative sites by merely changing URLs to evade access blocks, we are tracking them through intensive monitoring and promptly addressing them by immediately submitting them to the Communications Review Subcommittee."

Jung Hyang-mi, Director of the Copyright Bureau at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, "This case demonstrates that illegal websites cannot escape the investigative network of the Copyright Crime Investigation Division," and added, "We will do our best to protect the legitimate rights of creators by cooperating with relevant ministries and strengthening international joint investigations."

Meanwhile, the first trial for Mr. A is scheduled for the 6th of next month.

Kim So-yeon, Hankyung.com reporter sue123@hankyung.com