Minister Yoon In-chon: "Comics and Webtoons Need State-Led Support... Will Establish Promotion Committee"

Meeting on the Manga and Webtoon Industry Site on the 27th

"I believe it is now necessary for the government to take an active role in the full-scale promotion of the manhwa and webtoon sectors. To establish Korea's status and competitiveness as the origin country of webtoons, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) will provide systematic support."

Yoo In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is meeting with stakeholders from the comic and webtoon industry at the office of webtoon production company Jaedam Media Co., Ltd. in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the 27th, listening to on-site opinions to establish strategies for fostering the comic and webtoon industry.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Yoo In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, met with stakeholders in the manhwa and webtoon fields to express his commitment to strengthening government policies. On the afternoon of the 27th, at the office of webtoon production company Jaedam Media in Mapo-gu, Seoul, Yoo held a roundtable with webtoon artists and platform representatives, stating, "I hope to develop an organization directly, not just through the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency, and organize it so that it can play an important role in MCST policies."

Minister Yoo said, "Almost all dramas and movies use original content from webtoons and manhwa extensively, and this has been considered important for a long time. This meeting was arranged to prepare for MCST to support and nurture the field through policy support."

At the meeting, industry representatives from the manhwa and webtoon sectors demanded strong government measures against 'illegal sites.' They also voiced concerns that although Korea is the origin country of the webtoon industry, competition is intensifying as latecomer countries like Japan and the United States increase their investments, and that they are facing difficulties due to rapidly changing production environments.

While government support requests usually dominate industry meetings, the webtoon industry meeting was different. Industry representatives prioritized strong action against illegal sites as the top measure. In particular, webtoon artists Bae Jin-su of "Money Game" and Joo Dong-geun of "All of Us Are Dead" emphasized in unison the urgent need to block illegal webtoon sites.

Bae Jin-su said, "If the problem of illegal webtoon sites is not resolved, artists will face a very difficult path ahead. In the past, when domestic games attracted worldwide attention, the emergence of illegal game sites caused the entire industry to collapse, and it only began to recover after 20 years. We feel the same sense of crisis in the webtoon industry now." He added, "Illegal webtoon sites spread even more because they require little storage and server costs."

Platform companies such as Naver and Kakao Webtoon appealed, "We request deletion of hundreds of thousands of materials through dedicated teams, but private sector responses have limits, and even if specific individuals are caught, penalties are only a few million won in fines." They also said, "Illegal sites affect not only the Korean market but also overseas markets, and most Korean operators run servers abroad, making it very difficult," calling for government-level responses.

Yoon In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is meeting with stakeholders from the comic and webtoon industry at the office of webtoon production company Jaedam Media Co., Ltd. in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the 27th, listening to on-site opinions for establishing strategies to foster the comic and webtoon industry.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Minister Yoo stated, "We will continue to monitor and crack down on illegal sites," and promised ongoing cooperation, saying, "Please keep telling us if there are specific areas where you want the government to help."

At the site, discussions also arose about the confusion creators face due to industrial changes caused by artificial intelligence (AI). As AI-based creation advances, there are many controversies, including the possibility that the role of artists might be excluded.

Artist Lee Hyun-se explained, "Currently, we are working on the 'AI Lee Hyun-se' project with Jaedam Media, but many artists around me are struggling to adapt to the AI era because it costs a lot of money." He continued, "For those who have their own drawing style, if they model their character guides, they can use them like assistants anytime. Therefore, a manhwa and webtoon AI center that can support this is necessary. If practical training based on field experience is provided, it can expand into a new intellectual property industry, so establishing a government-level AI center is most important."

Yoon Yang-su, Director of the Content Policy Bureau at MCST, said, "AI has an impact across all content fields, and R&D budgets can support the AI parts requested by the manhwa industry. Since manhwa and webtoon businesses have surpassed the level that regional organizations like the Bucheon Manhwa Contents Agency can control, MCST will increase the budget related to the Korea Creative Content Agency to enable a national-level role."

Additionally, the industry proposed new initiatives such as awards and honors in the manhwa and webtoon fields, budget support for Manhwa Day, and the establishment of a world-scale webtoon festival.

Minister Yoo said, "I believe a festival is essential as the origin country of webtoons. Although it will take time, if multiple cities hold festivals, we can study these cases and bring them together to grow."