"We Never Know Defeat" Tears of Black Rubber Shoes Polished by Juniors

Memorial Discussion for Late Artist Lee Woo-young of Geomjeong Gomu-shin
"Copyright Has Not Yet Returned to the Bereaved Family"
One Year After Death, Review of Cartoonist's Creative Environment Improvement Activities

“Until a memorial exhibition for the late Lee Woo-young, creator of Geomjeong Gomu-shin, is possible, we still have a long way to go”

Lee Woo-jin, the younger brother of the late Lee Woo-young, the creator of "Black Rubber Shoes," is shedding tears at a National Assembly press conference on March 27. Photo by Yonhap News

The first anniversary memorial discussion titled ‘We Do Not Know How to Lose’ for the late Lee Woo-young, who passed away during a copyright dispute, was held at 4 p.m. on the 10th at ‘Mojaran Art Museum’ in Songnae-dong, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi Province.

Lee was the creator of the popular comic 'Geomjeong Gomu-shin,' but suffered mental distress due to a copyright dispute with a character company and took his own life in March last year.

During his lifetime, Lee experienced difficulties such as the character company’s CEO registering himself as a co-author of nine ‘Geomjeong Gomu-shin’ characters, resulting in Lee receiving a small share of profits or not being properly notified during secondary business activities. He especially expressed pain over not being able to freely draw the ‘Geomjeong Gomu-shin’ characters he created without the CEO’s consent.

The discussion was attended by Lee Woo-young’s bereaved family member Lee Ji-hyun, Kim Dong-hoon, chairman of the Lee Woo-young Case Countermeasure Committee, webtoon artist Hong Bichi-ra, and cultural critic Park Kwang-cheol.

At the event, they reviewed the efforts made over the past year to improve the creative environment for webtoon artists following Lee Woo-young’s death and discussed future tasks for the comic industry.

Park Kwang-cheol, the cultural critic who planned the discussion, explained, “Many people misunderstand that the copyright of ‘Geomjeong Gomu-shin’ has been returned to the bereaved family, but this is not true. The matter concerns the administrative cancellation decision regarding incorrect copyright registration, and issues related to business rights and character usage remain unresolved due to retroactive application of past contracts.”

Memorial Discussion Poster for the Late Writer Lee Woo-young. [Photo by Lee Woo-young Writer Incident Countermeasures Committee]

He continued, “The bereaved family is suffering from the prolonged ‘Geomjeong Gomu-shin’ lawsuit. Over the past year, there has been much noise across society about preventing a ‘second Geomjeong Gomu-shin,’ but practically nothing has been resolved. Now is the time to prepare for a long fight,” adding, “To fight without exhaustion, humor and wit are necessary, and there must be pauses to catch one’s breath even in harsh realities. This is why we planned this memorial exhibition and discussion, hoping to gather wisdom from many people.”

Kim Dong-hoon, chairman of the Lee Woo-young Case Countermeasure Committee, stated, “Most facts regarding unfair practices in the ‘Geomjeong Gomu-shin’ copyright dispute have been clearly revealed, and it is now hard to deny that contracts far worse than those Lee Woo-young suffered from during his lifetime are widespread in the field. Nevertheless, it is strange that change is slow or absent. The important thing now is not just revealing the truth, but seriously considering how we should live in a world where unfairness has become common sense. This is a matter of life and death for creators.”

Lee Ji-hyun, wife of the late writer Lee Woo-young, appeared as a witness at the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee hearing on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 10th, responding to lawmakers' questions.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee Ji-hyun, wife of the late Lee Woo-young, said, “Many things have happened over the past 1 year and 3 months, but I have two feelings now. One is that I want this matter to end quickly and be forgotten, to return to a quiet daily life,” and added, “On the other hand, from the perspective of our children, when they later search their father’s name, they will see many articles, and I hope the outcome will be something to be proud of.”

The copyright lawsuit surrounding ‘Geomjeong Gomu-shin’ is still ongoing. In 2022, the late Lee Woo-young filed a lawsuit claiming that the character company produced secondary works without their permission ahead of the release of the animation ‘Geomjeong Gomu-shin: My Happy Home’ theatrical version. The company then filed a counterclaim for damages against Lee, and the court ruled in the first trial that the existing copyright was valid, ordering Lee to pay approximately 74 million won in damages. The bereaved family has appealed.

In his final statement submitted to the court before his death, Lee pleaded, “Geomjeong Gomu-shin is my entire life and my soul. Please help me reclaim the rights of creators who are foolishly naive except for their creativity.”

According to the bereaved family, the appeal ruling is scheduled for July.