Minister Park Bo-gyun Meets Webtoon Industry Today to Discuss Sustainable Growth Plans

Copyright Protection Division Seoul Office Meeting at 2 PM on the 29th

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] On the afternoon of the 29th, Park Bokyun, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, met with webtoon industry officials at the Copyright Protection Division Seoul Office of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to hear on-site opinions and discuss support measures for the sustainable growth of the webtoon industry.

The meeting was attended by Shin Ilsuk, President of the Korea Cartoonists Association; Seo Beomgang, President of the Korea Webtoon Industry Association; SIU, author of the webtoon "Tower of God"; Jeon Jeongmi, author of the comic "Private Life of the Region 99"; and Kim Minsu, a student of the Youth Disabled Webtoon Academy.

Also present were Lee Jeonggeun, Director of Naver Webtoon; Hwang Hyunsoo, Head of Story Division at Kakao Entertainment; Shim Jungkyung, CEO of YLAB; and Lee Jinwoo, CEO of Toricomms, who are expected to provide various opinions related to the webtoon creative environment.

In particular, following the death of Jang Seongrak, the artist responsible for the artwork of the popular webtoon "Solo Leveling," who passed away at the age of 37 due to cerebral hemorrhage, the issue of high-intensity labor within the webtoon industry has come to the forefront, and discussions on structural problems at the site such as adjustment of creators' working hours and improvement of treatment are also expected to take place.

Earlier, in his inaugural speech in May, Minister Park emphasized communication and empathy with the field, stating, "Policies that come from humble communication and empathy are alive and breathing. The more familiar one is with the world of culture and arts, the more the pledge to 'support but not interfere' is properly practiced."

Minister Park has recently continued his on-site visits by communicating with the tourism industry, gaming industry, disabled artists, and sports entrepreneurs.