SEOUL, September 08 (AJP) - South Korea's culture ministry signed an agreement with Thailand's police agency Tuesday to strengthen joint investigations into cross-border copyright crimes involving Korean content.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Central Investigation Bureau of the Royal Thai Police signed the memorandum of understanding at JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul in Jongno District, the ministry said.
The agreement covers cooperation on law-enforcement operations against copyright infringement, information sharing on copyright crimes and investigations, and joint policy work on copyright protection and public awareness.
The agreement builds on a February multinational operation against an illegal IPTV network based in Thailand and Malaysia.
South Korea's culture ministry joined the National Police Agency, Interpol, the Royal Thai Police, the Royal Malaysia Police and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations in the crackdown.
Officials said the group had illegally distributed Korean and other global broadcast content since 2015, mainly across Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
Its service carried 426 live channels worldwide, including eight South Korean broadcasters such as tvN, KBS World and SPOTV, along with more than 8,000 video-on-demand titles.
Industry estimates put losses for Korean content owners at about 35 billion won ($25 million).
Investigators raided homes and offices in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and Selangor, Malaysia, taking four suspects into custody: one Thai national and three Malaysian nationals.
After evidence reviews and questioning, local investigators verified charges against two Malaysian suspects in April and one Thai suspect in May, sending them to trial.
The operation was supported by a cooperation network built under the second phase of the Interpol Stop Online Piracy project, known as I-SOP.
South Korea's culture ministry, National Police Agency and Interpol signed the I-SOP agreement in January 2025.
A copyright enforcement meeting hosted by the ministry last June with Thai investigators and Interpol officials also helped build trust before the joint operation, officials said.
Kim Jae-hyun, the ministry's director general for culture and media industry policy, said South Korea will keep working with Interpol and foreign law-enforcement agencies to strengthen its response to transnational copyright crimes.
AJP Takeaways
- South Korea's culture ministry and Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau will sign a copyright protection MOU in Seoul.
- The agreement focuses on joint enforcement operations, investigation information sharing and copyright policy exchanges.
- The move follows a February multinational crackdown on an illegal IPTV network based in Thailand and Malaysia.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
