Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In Chon (center) on Jan. 15 poses for a photo at the signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding on Interpol's Stop Online Piracy Project II at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea in Seoul's Jongno-gu District. From left are a large photo of Interpol Secretary-General Valdecy Urquiza, Minister Yu and Lee Jun-hyeong, director-general of the Korea National Policy Agency's International Cooperation Bureau. (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism)
By Yoo Yeon Gyeong
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will crack down on copyright violations of domestically made content through cooperation with the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) and Interpol.
The ministry and the KNPA on Jan. 15 said the three parties concluded a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Interpol's Stop Online Piracy (I-SOP) Project II from 2025-29.
Since 2021, the ministry and the KNPA have cooperated with foreign law enforcement abroad including Interpol to implement I-SOP I. The results include apprehending copyright violators including those from major illegal distribution and pirating sites such as Noonoo TV, Evo Group and Ajitoon and illegal IPTV overseas.
Despite such progress, cases of online piracy abroad keep rising, so the ministry and the KNPA have opted to join I-SOP II to tackle this.
They will work with 196 Interpol member states to crack down on illegal online distribution and piracy websites, raise cooperation with law enforcement bodies worldwide, and heighten awareness of copyright protection at home and abroad.
To boost copyright protection activity, two KNPA investigators will be dispatched to Interpol as specialists in protecting Korean content.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In Chon said, "Communicating with people worldwide through K-content in various field such as dramas, film, music and entertainment, Korea through this agreement will do more than being a global content power to emerge as a world leader in copyright protection."
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