Prosecutors raid NHN, Daum to probe unlicensed music files sharing

SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors raided the headquarters of South Korea's two major Internet portal operators, NHN Corp. and Daum Communications Corp., on Tuesday, following a complaint filed by a musical association over unlicensed music files circulating on their sites.

It is the first raid by prosecutors of portal sites related to illegal music
sharing.
The Korea Music Copyright Association sued the two homegrown tech giants in July,
accusing them of overlooking illegal file sharing on their portals, Naver.com and
Daum.net. Prosecutors recently began investigating music piracy as part of their
initiative to crack down on online copyright infringements in the entertainment
industry, including movies.
Investigators confiscated computer disks copied from the main servers containing
information on personal blogs and Internet clubs from the NHN headquarters in
Seongnam, south of Seoul, and the Daum main office in southern Seoul, sources at
the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said.
Prosecutors are reviewing whether the copyright law can be applied to those who
get free downloads by streaming music into individual computers, one of the most
common means of unlicensed music sharing, blamed for eroding substantial profits
for the music industry.
Investigators "carried out the raids in relation to the complaint, but we are
still cautious in deciding whether the case amounts to crime because it is
slightly different from movie downloading, which has been recently found illegal
by the court," a source said, requesting anonymity.
An appeals court recently affirmed a jail sentence for a man who posted
unlicensed movie files on the Internet for profit.
The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Nam Jae-woo to 10 months in prison and
a fine of 5 million won (US$3,750) for violating copyright laws.
The case represented the first court battle in Korea against online copyright
infringements in the movie industry.