South Korea’s biggest piracy operator sentenced to prison after huge raid

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The individual running the largest suspected piracy site, Noonoo TV from South Korea, was given a three-year prison term and ordered to pay a fine exceeding half a million dollars.

Attracting millions of viewers every month, the streaming platform Noonoo (or NunuTV) accumulated a staggering 1.5 billion views on unauthorized television series and films, according to Torrent Freak’s reports.

It began operation in June 2021, but had to close down just under two years later due to “exorbitant traffic congestion issues” and “intense pressure on the platform from all sides.

In November of 2024, following a report from Hollywood’s Motion Picture Association, Korean officials confiscated another piracy-prone domain: TVWIKI. The operator behind both this site and OKTOON, an illegally popular anime website, now faces potential prison time due to their actions.

NoonooTV operator sentenced to prison in South Korea

On May 26th, a person known as Person A in various news sources was given a three-year prison term and fined approximately $514,000 by the Daejeon District Court.

According to Anime Corner, it’s widely recognized that Person A is among the most notorious pirates in Korean history. To evade capture, he established various disguised online realms, stored data on foreign servers, and managed his activities using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).

Judge Koh Young-sik stated that repeatedly violating someone’s property rights for extended periods, primarily to generate income like ad revenue, constitutes a significant offense,” he explained during the sentencing.

Violating copyrights not only restricts a creator’s income but also suppresses innovative spirit, potentially stunting cultural growth. Our decision was influenced by the defendant’s confession of guilt and previous criminal history.

In November 2024, Person A was apprehended during a search and seizure operation on their premises. The authorities confiscated assets valued at approximately 2.6 billion won (equivalent to about $1.6 million USD), along with 14 Bitcoins. Currently, the value of one Bitcoin exceeds $100,000.

For Person A, attempting an appeal on his verdict seems unlikely to succeed. Back in April, the proprietor of Agitoon attempted to challenge a two-year imprisonment term and a fine exceeding 70 million Korean won ($50,000), but the ruling was maintained.

Additionally, following INTERPOL’s initiation of the second stage of their global anti-piracy initiative, they have been collaborating with local law enforcement agencies to combat unlawful digital distribution.

While we wait, let’s stay updated on upcoming movies this year by checking out our 2025 Movie Calendar. Also, explore information about top-notch streaming services anticipated for 2025.

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2025-06-05 13:20