ID :
33701
Wed, 12/03/2008 - 15:05
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/33701
The shortlink copeid
Prosecution to summon, charge NHN, Daum chiefs for on-line music downloading
SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors said Wednesday they will summon the chiefs of NHN Corp. and Daum Communications Corp., Korea's largest Internet portal services, in an unprecedented move to penalize portal CEOs over on-line music piracy.
"Inquiries to working-level staff have been done, and we are going to complete
this investigation after summoning the CEOs of the companies soon," a prosecutor
of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said.
It would be the first time that criminal charges are brought against chiefs of
on-line services for abetting illegal downloading. Blogs and on-line communities
hosted by the portals are popular havens for sharing free, unlicensed music and
movie files.
Investigators will question NHN chief Choi Hwi-young, whose firm operates leading
Korean portal site Naver.com, and Seok Jong-hoon of Daum.net over how much they
knew of the unlicensed on-line downloading, the prosecutor said. They will also
likely charge the CEOs with abetting copyright infringement.
The investigation began after the Korea Music Copyright Association, a group of
record companies, sued the two homegrown tech giants in July, complaining they
were suffering a dramatic drop in sales due to illegal downloading on portals.
Prosecutors raided the companies' headquarters in October.
"This case is seen as one in which the portal operators are abetting their users'
illegal activities," the prosecutor said. "They are responsible for failing to
take appropriate actions despite repeated requests from copyright owners to end
such activities."
Prosecutors have also considered seeking arrest warrants for about 40 hosts of
on-line communities and bloggers on Naver and Daum.
In a major case involving an on-line operator in 2006, police investigated the
head of NCsoft Co., a Seoul-based Internet game developer, for allegedly abetting
piracy. He was not charged.
Prosecutors have recently stepped up efforts to crack down on on-line copyright
infringement. South Korea is one of the world's most wired nations, with 95
percent of households connected to high-speed Internet.
An appeals court recently affirmed a 10-month jail sentence and a fine of 5
million won (US$3,426) for a man who posted unlicensed movie files on the
Internet for profit.
"Inquiries to working-level staff have been done, and we are going to complete
this investigation after summoning the CEOs of the companies soon," a prosecutor
of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said.
It would be the first time that criminal charges are brought against chiefs of
on-line services for abetting illegal downloading. Blogs and on-line communities
hosted by the portals are popular havens for sharing free, unlicensed music and
movie files.
Investigators will question NHN chief Choi Hwi-young, whose firm operates leading
Korean portal site Naver.com, and Seok Jong-hoon of Daum.net over how much they
knew of the unlicensed on-line downloading, the prosecutor said. They will also
likely charge the CEOs with abetting copyright infringement.
The investigation began after the Korea Music Copyright Association, a group of
record companies, sued the two homegrown tech giants in July, complaining they
were suffering a dramatic drop in sales due to illegal downloading on portals.
Prosecutors raided the companies' headquarters in October.
"This case is seen as one in which the portal operators are abetting their users'
illegal activities," the prosecutor said. "They are responsible for failing to
take appropriate actions despite repeated requests from copyright owners to end
such activities."
Prosecutors have also considered seeking arrest warrants for about 40 hosts of
on-line communities and bloggers on Naver and Daum.
In a major case involving an on-line operator in 2006, police investigated the
head of NCsoft Co., a Seoul-based Internet game developer, for allegedly abetting
piracy. He was not charged.
Prosecutors have recently stepped up efforts to crack down on on-line copyright
infringement. South Korea is one of the world's most wired nations, with 95
percent of households connected to high-speed Internet.
An appeals court recently affirmed a 10-month jail sentence and a fine of 5
million won (US$3,426) for a man who posted unlicensed movie files on the
Internet for profit.
