Kakao Entertainment and Naver WEBTOON won a civil lawsuit on March 11 against the operator of Agitoon, one of South Korea's largest illegal webtoon and web novel distribution sites, with the court awarding a total of 2 billion won (about $1.33 million) in damages.

The court fully accepted both companies' claims of 1 billion won each, holding the defendant liable for the full 2 billion won in damages, along with interest and provisional enforcement.

Agitoon was responsible for the distribution of approximately 750,000 webtoon titles and 2.5 million web novel works, making it one of the largest piracy platforms in the domestic market. Authorities arrested the site's operator in August 2024 as part of a joint investigation by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and prosecutors. The operator was later sentenced to two years in prison, a ruling upheld on appeal.

Citing the scale and duration of infringement, the plaintiffs argued that the total damage amounted to trillions of won. The court acknowledged the severity of the case and ruled in full favor of both companies.

The ruling marks a rare instance in which enforcement against a major piracy site has extended beyond criminal punishment to a confirmed civil damages judgment, highlighting coordinated efforts between government authorities and industry players to combat illegal content distribution.

Source: news 1 (Eun-bin Shin)