A screenshot shows the illegal comic piracy website Marumaru2 / Courtesy of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
In a milestone for international copyright enforcement, Korean authorities on Thursday extradited a 37-year-old man from Japan accused of running a massive online piracy network that illicitly distributed famous Japanese comics and funneled profits into illegal gambling advertisements.
The suspect, identified only as "A," was taken into custody at Gimpo International Airport following an extradition process overseen by Korea’s Ministry of Justice and Japanese authorities. The handover marks the first time Japan has extradited one of its own naturalized citizens to Korea since the two nations signed a bilateral extradition treaty in 2002. The suspect, a former Korean national, left for Japan in 2017 and obtained Japanese citizenship in 2022.
Prosecutors alleged that from 2015 to 2022, the suspect operated a rogue digital sharing site, illegally uploading more than 1,400 prominent copyrighted Japanese comic book titles, including global sensations like "Slam Dunk," "One Piece" and "Detective Conan." To monetize the traffic, the platform prominently displayed advertisements for illicit online gambling operations.
