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The operator of the illegal OTT streaming website NunuTV has been arrested.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism’s Copyright Crime Investigation Team launched a comprehensive investigation into the country’s largest copyright infringement websites, including ‘NunuTV,’ the follow-up illegal websites ‘TVWiki,’ and ‘OKToon,’ and arrested the operators in November.

Although illegal streaming websites like NunuTV, TVWiki, TVMon, and OKToon were shut down, the operators of NunuTV, which had overseas servers for its "Season 2" and "Season 3" versions, could not resist the temptation of massive illegal advertising revenue. Despite declaring an end to operations in April of the previous year, they continued offering illegal OTT streaming services.

The domains for ‘NunuTV,’ ‘TVWiki,’ and ‘OKToon’ were confiscated, and their access routes were changed to display a “seized page” to immediately block the unauthorized transmission of copyrighted content.

However, as of midnight on the 21st, users can still access websites like TVWiki and watch the latest films such as Veteran 2, Hidden Face, and popular dramas like Okssi Lady and Lighting Store for free.

Many people, burdened by the monthly subscription fees for services like Netflix and Disney+, secretly watch NunuTV illegally.

Simply watching NunuTV is not an easy cause for legal punishment. It would be difficult to prosecute individuals just for visiting such websites, as distinguishing between legal and illegal websites in the vast realm of the internet is nearly impossible.

During government raids, it was discovered that NunuTV and TVWiki had applied peer-to-peer (P2P) streaming technology, where users unwittingly became accomplices by sharing video pieces stored on their personal computers with others. This significantly reduced streaming costs for popular videos, resulting in widespread, unauthorized distribution of copyrighted content.

Moreover, the use of P2P streaming exposed the IP addresses of users accessing ‘NunuTV’ and ‘TVWiki,’ raising concerns over privacy issues and the need for extra caution.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, along with the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, the National Intelligence Service, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Korean branch, INTERPOL, and local foreign law enforcement agencies, cooperated closely to seize not only two luxury cars and a high-end watch from the operator but also cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which were considered criminal proceeds.

The operator of NunuTV was found to have close ties to illegal gambling organizations operating in foreign countries, setting up overseas servers and adopting techniques such as real-time traffic monitoring and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to ensure the stability of the illegally provided content. This demonstrated the meticulousness of the operation.