[Exclusive] Complaints About 'Hate and Sexual Content' in Webtoons Surge... 153 Cases This Year Alone

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] Recently, as controversies over misogyny in webtoons continue to arise, it has been confirmed that related complaints to the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) have also significantly increased.

According to data obtained by Asia Economy on the 22nd through the office of Shin Hyun-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of complaints related to "violence, hatred, and sensationalism" in webtoons submitted to the KCSC rose from 133 cases last year to 153 cases as of August this year. Within less than a year, related complaints increased by 20 cases (15%).

There were 16 complaints related to Kian84's Naver Webtoon "Bokhakwang," which was embroiled in misogyny controversy. In episode 304 of "Bokhakwang," Kian84 depicted a scene implying that a female intern lacking ability had sexual relations with a single team leader to become a regular employee, which drew public backlash. Complaints related to "Bokhakwang" led the Webtoon Self-Regulation Committee to decide on "requesting caution to the platform, monitoring, and strengthening training for those in charge."

Currently, regulation of webtoons is handled by the Webtoon Self-Regulation Committee. When complaints are filed with the KCSC, the commission forwards the complaint details to the Webtoon Self-Regulation Committee. After review, the committee can request platforms serializing webtoons such as Naver and Kakao to take measures including "service termination, content modification, youth access restriction, and adult verification recommendation."

According to Representative Shin, this year alone, the Webtoon Self-Regulation Committee requested "service termination" for 10 webtoons, recommended "content modification" for 5 webtoons, and imposed "youth access restriction" and "adult verification recommendation" on 2 webtoons each.