The Prosecutor’s Office states: “The [site’s] administrators illegally earned profits totalling tens of billions of KRW (approx. millions of USD/EUR) over the past thirteen years”

An owner of Soranet, a man identified as Mr. Hong, was taken into custody on June 18th, 2018. He is one of four owners, two couples identified as the Hong family and the Song family. The owners are accused of not only distributing pornography, but also engaging in its production. They have been on the run, living in New Zealand and Australia, since the South Korean police launched an official investigation back in 2015. They’ve also appealed and lost the Ministry of Foreign Affair’s decision to confiscate their passports and to stop them from re-applying for one. The remaining three owners will be served subpoenas for investigation.

The illegal website, which ran from 2003 to 2016, is known for brokering underage prostitution and drug trafficking, violence against women including genital mutilation and conspiracy in gang rape, defamation, and extortion (Read more about my account of Soranet’s activities here).

The site and a linked Twitter account were officially taken down by the owners two years ago (Link), although similar sites have popped up to replace them.

The Prosecutor’s Office is also working on forcibly restituting their illegal earnings.

[Exclusive] Owner of "Soranet", South Korea's Biggest Pornographic Website,
Taken into Custody ([단독] 최대 음란물 사이트 원조 ‘소라넷’ 운영자 구속)
25 June, 2018. KBS
http://news.kbs.co.kr/news/view.do?ncd=3669561 

En Corée du Sud, les femmes à l’avant garde de #MeToo 
3 May, 2018. Tous les internets (ARTE)
https://youtu.be/0LyicbDm6Qg