Unveiled in 9th illegal distribution white paper

System covers prevention through post-incident response

Kakao Entertainment has built Dark Chaser, a comprehensive copyright protection system. [Kakao Entertainment]
Kakao Entertainment has built Dark Chaser, a comprehensive copyright protection system. [Kakao Entertainment]

Kakao Entertainment has built Dark Chaser, the industry's first comprehensive copyright protection system, and plans to use it to strengthen its response to illegal content distribution and better protect creators' rights.

The company published its ninth white paper on combating illegal distribution Thursday, detailing the system's features and results.

Developed in-house, Dark Chaser goes beyond the conventional approach of removing infringing content after the fact, adding proactive prevention capabilities as illegal distribution methods — including domain switching and circumvention tools — grow increasingly sophisticated. The system integrates the entire response workflow into a single platform, linking content detection, reporting, outcome tracking, domain tracing and case history management to improve speed, efficiency and accuracy.

A key feature is its ability to analyze infringement patterns and connections between sites, allowing early detection of repeat violations and new leak activity. The system puts into practice the TTT (Targeting, Tracing, Takedown) strategy the company unveiled last year, creating a more precise response chain that runs from identifying illegal sites and tracking their operators through to shutdowns and legal action.

Dark Chaser launched in beta in late 2025 and currently monitors approximately 16,000 Kakao Entertainment webtoon and web novel intellectual properties around the clock across global markets.

Kakao Entertainment blocked about 126.16 million illegal items worldwide in the first half of this year, up 24.8 percent from 101.12 million in the second half of last year. Since launching Peacock, the content industry's first dedicated anti-piracy team, in 2021, the company has removed a cumulative total of more than 1.1 billion illegal webtoon and web novel items globally through June this year.

"We will continue to advance our technology and expand cooperation with relevant agencies and global organizations to build a content ecosystem where creators and users can feel secure," a Kakao Entertainment official said.


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