Domestic Webtoon Companies Roll Up Sleeves to Eradicate Illegal Distribution of Webtoons

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] The Webtoon Illegal Distribution Response Council (Webdaehyeop), formed by leading domestic webtoon companies, is launching a large-scale campaign to eradicate illegal webtoon distribution. The goal is to protect valuable copyrights by preventing illegal distribution that undermines creators' motivation and earnings, and to foster global webtoons.

On the 30th, Webdaehyeop announced the opening of a campaign website to eradicate illegal webtoon distribution and the start of full-scale activities. Members of Webdaehyeop include Naver Webtoon, Lezhin Entertainment, Ridibooks, Kakao Entertainment, Kidari Studio, Topco, and Toomics.

Conducted in consultation with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, this campaign aims to raise awareness about the seriousness of illegal webtoon distribution and to instill vigilance in those who distribute and view illegal webtoons.

The campaign name commonly adopted by the webtoon companies is “Naedonnaetoon, How We Enjoy Webtoons.” It conveys the meaning that webtoons, like dramas and movies, are precious creative works that require payment to enjoy. It also implies that the webtoon industry needs everyone's effort and interest to grow robustly.

The campaign website has been prepared to reflect the unique colors of each of the seven webtoon companies. Readers can encounter messages about eradicating illegal distribution delivered by the webtoon companies through content featuring their favorite webtoon creators on the campaign site.

Notably, this campaign is Webdaehyeop’s first campaign involving readers. Previously, Webdaehyeop has undertaken various activities to improve the webtoon industry ecosystem, including ▲joint civil and criminal responses against operators and distributors of illegal webtoon piracy sites ▲legal and institutional improvement activities in cooperation with government agencies ▲active crackdowns on illegal distribution sites.

Webdaehyeop stated, “Illegal webtoon distribution causes severe damage to creators and threatens the foundation of the webtoon industry, which is growing into a global content sector. Through this campaign, we aim to build a deep consensus with readers on the seriousness of illegal distribution and, based on this, carry out various activities to protect creators’ rights.”

Meanwhile, according to the ‘2020 Webtoon Business Survey’ published by the Korea Creative Content Agency, the potential damage from illegal webtoon distribution is estimated at about 6.666 trillion KRW, more than ten times the size of the legitimate market.