The operator of Noonoo TV, believed to be South Korea’s biggest piracy website, has been sentenced to three years in prison and fined over $500,000.
Noonoo (also known as NunuTV) attracted millions of users per month and amassed 1.5 billion views on pirated TV shows and movies, as reported by Torrent Freak.
It launched in June 2021, shutting down less than two years later and citing “outrageous traffic charge problems” and “pressure on the site from all directions.”
In November 2024, after a complaint made by Hollywood’s Motion Picture Association, Korean authorities seized another domain: TVWIKI, another notorious piracy magnet. Now, the operator responsible for both websites (as well as OKTOON, a popular illegal anime website) is facing prison time.
NoonooTV operator sentenced to prison in South Korea
The man, who’s been referred to only as Person A by other news outlets, was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 700 million won ($514,000) at the Daejeon District Court on May 26.
As per Anime Corner, Person A is considered to be one of the biggest pirates in Korean history. In a “meticulous” effort to avoid detection, he created alternate domains and stored content on overseas servers, as well as maintaining his operation with VPNs.
“It is a serious crime to systematically infringe on property rights over a long period of time for profit-making purposes, such as obtaining advertising revenue,” Judge Koh Young-sik said in his sentencing.
Pixabay“Copyright crimes not only infringe on the copyright holder’s ability to generate revenue but also discourage creative desire, ultimately hindering cultural development. We decided the sentence after considering the defendant’s admission of wrongdoing and criminal record.“
Person A was arrested in November 2024, with law enforcement carrying out a raid on his property and seizing assets worth 2.6 billion won ($1.6 million), as well as 14 Bitcoin. A single Bitcoin is now worth over $100,000.
While Person A can appeal his sentence, the chances of success are slim. In April, the operator of Agitoon tried to appeal his two-year prison sentence and a fine of over 70 million won ($50,000), but it was upheld.
This also comes after INTERPOL launched the second phase of its international anti-piracy project, with the organization working with local police to crack down on illegal online distribution.
In the meantime, keep tabs on the year’s releases with our 2025 movie calendar and find out more about the best streaming platforms in 2025.
