The Speed of Enactment and Revision Accelerates for Webtoon Standard Contracts

Government Webtoon Win-Win Council Biannual Meeting
"Completed Basic Research on Standard Identification System"

The revision and establishment of standard contracts in the comics sector are gaining momentum. Recently, subcommittee working groups have been formed to begin collecting field opinions. On the 6th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held a semi-annual meeting of the Webtoon Win-Win Council as a preliminary review. Officials from the Ministry and the Fair Trade Commission, along with private members of the council, gathered to share overall implementation status and discuss specific directions.

The main issues include the revision and establishment of standard contracts in the comics sector, the introduction of a standard identification system for webtoons, and a survey on the webtoon industry. A Ministry official stated, “Regarding the standard contracts in the comics sector, we plan to collect opinions by subcommittee and soon produce a revision and establishment proposal.” Concerning the webtoon standard identification system, they said, “The basic research for its introduction has been completed,” and added, “We plan to develop an independent identification system while preparing measures for its stable implementation.” The webtoon industry survey will be conducted in the second half of the year. Currently, in-depth discussions are underway to address items included in the win-win agreement, such as creator welfare and contract practices.

Kim Jaehyun, Director of the Content Policy Bureau at the Ministry, promised, “‘Win-win’ means preparing follow-up discussions to uphold shared values,” and pledged, “We will make various efforts to ensure that the webtoon ecosystem effectively responds to new environments such as technological changes and global competition.”