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August 31, 2009
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| An illegal copy of the blockbuster Korean movie “Haeundae” was briefly leaked across local peer-to-peer Internet sites on Saturday, said its distributor CJ Entertainment yesterday. The company plans to request a police investigation this week. Over the weekend Internet media reported that the nation’s leading film distributor had already contacted the police but the company’s spokesman said the decision would be taken today. Illegal recording and distribution of films is rampant in Korea, but what makes this case different is the movies involved have usually finished their runs. Haeundae, though, is playing and ticket sales are growing. Named after the beach in Busan, the movie has sold over 10 million tickets since its release late July, making it the most popular film of 2009 so far. It’s also been sold to 24 countries and was released in China last week. Further releases are scheduled for the United States and Southeast Asia. According to CJ, the downloads were immediately blocked following the news reports, but the leak could deal a blow to ticket sales. In addition, a CJ spokesman said the distributed computer file has a higher definition than versions shot on camcorders in theaters. “The illegally distributed movie file doesn’t seem to have been recorded since the quality is much better,” said the spokesman. For this reason, CJ has launched a probe into its own employees. “We will seek strict legal action against the initial distributor of the film, and both individuals and groups who have turned profit through the illegal file will be subject to legal responsibilities,” the spokesman added. Haeundae cost 13 billion won ($10.6 million) to make and is the fifth Korean movie to ever sell over 10 million tickets. By Seo Ji-eun [spring@joongang.co.kr] |
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