[Market Focus] YLAB Rises on Disney's 2% Stake in Naver Webtoon and Collaboration; Second-Largest Shareholder Highlighted

YLAB is showing strong performance. This is believed to be influenced by news that Disney and Naver Webtoon are creating a new comic platform.

As of 9:24 a.m. on September 16, YLAB was trading at 5,540 won, up 9.06% from the previous day.

According to the industry, Webtoon Entertainment, the U.S. headquarters of Naver Webtoon, announced on September 15 (local time) that it had signed a non-binding term sheet with Disney to develop a new digital comic platform. This platform will offer a space where users can enjoy approximately 35,000 digital comics based on intellectual properties (IP) from Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, Pixar, and 20th Century Studios.

Some of these comics will be provided in a vertical scroll webtoon format, while others will be digitalized versions of traditional comic books. Webtoon Entertainment will be responsible for development and operation, and some original webtoons discovered by Naver Webtoon in North America will also be available.

Anyone with a Disney+ membership will be able to use the comic platform at no additional cost, and there are plans for global service as well.

To facilitate platform development cooperation, Disney has decided to acquire a 2% stake in Webtoon Entertainment. Following this news, Webtoon Entertainment's stock price surged by as much as 55%.

Meanwhile, Naver Webtoon is the second-largest shareholder of YLAB, holding a 9.28% stake.