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Korea, Interpol arrest illegal streaming service operators in Vietnam

Published: 10 Feb. 2025, 14:56 Updated: 10 Feb. 2025, 14:59

Illegal streaming platform Kokoa TV [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Korea and Interpol apprehended two individuals who ran illegal live TV streaming services in Vietnam, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on Monday.

The two apprehended illegal service providers operated four illegal streaming platforms that broadcast Korean TV channels and various other online video content from April 2022 through July 2024, infringing on content copyrights.

The perpetrators established a local corporate body and hired Vietnamese employees to avoid the Korean government’s investigation, according to the Culture Ministry on Monday.

The operators used fake names and information when registering the domains of the illegal sites and used virtual private networks. The operators also renamed one of its sites from Pickle TV to Kokoa TV.

The four illegal sites also provided content from streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV, making profits of about 400 million won ($275,471) through Google’s advertisement program AdSense.

“This investigation presents a significant case that proves we are able to apprehend illegal content providers despite the more sophisticated and advanced technologies the perpetrators used,” said Jung Hyang-mi, chief of the ministry's copyrights bureau.

This operation in Vietnam is part of a broader effort by the Culture Ministry and the National Police Agency to combat copyright crimes. In April 2021, they established a partnership with Interpol to implement the “Interpol-Stop Online Piracy” (I-SOP) initiative.

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [[email protected]]