Korea, Indonesia Strengthen International Cooperation Investigation into ‘K-Content’ Copyright Crimes
On September 10, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Yoo In-chon, hereinafter referred to as MCST) and the Intellectual Property Office under the Indonesian Ministry of Human Rights and Justice signed an official business agreement in Seoul to cooperate internationally to resolve copyright crimes between Korea and Indonesia.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has been expanding its international cooperation system in accordance with the ‘Measures to Eradicate Illegal Distribution of K-Content’ announced by relevant ministries last year under the direction of President Yoon Seok-yeol. The signing of this agreement is part of these efforts and will be an important opportunity to establish a more precise international cooperation network and eradicate the illegal distribution of ‘K-content’.
The Indonesian Intellectual Property Office is the main agency responsible for enforcing laws on copyright, patents, trademarks, industrial designs, etc. Last October, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Special Judicial Police, in cooperation with Interpol and the Indonesian Intellectual Property Office, cracked down on a copyright crime organization that had been broadcasting “K-content” live through illegal IPTV in Indonesia since 2010.
As ‘K-content’ such as movies, dramas, and entertainment shows are gaining popularity worldwide, illegal distribution is also increasing, and with the recent advancement of digital technology, infringement methods are becoming more sophisticated, and operations through overseas servers are making it difficult to track and crack down on crimes.
With the signing of this agreement, the scope of copyright crime investigation is expected to advance to the next level. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Indonesian Intellectual Property Office plan to promote ▴cooperation in law enforcement in response to copyright infringement, ▴sharing of copyright crime and investigation information, and ▴copyright protection system and awareness-raising activities.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also plans to establish an international cooperative investigation system to respond to content piracy worldwide through collaboration with Interpol, and to track down illegal content distribution organizations and operators to protect creators’ legitimate profits and eradicate copyright infringement crimes.
Jeong Hyang-mi, director of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Copyright Bureau, said, “Copyright crimes occur overnight, across borders, online, and are not limited to a specific country. This is a problem that is difficult to solve with just the efforts of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea.” She added, “Through this business agreement, we expect to be able to drastically block copyright crimes through a close international cooperative investigation system with Indonesia, one of the major consumers of K-content.”
Editor. Hong Se-yeong
