Webtoon's Growth Potential Proven by the Numbers [Cracks in the Webtoon Industry]

③ Policy Effects Proven by the Numbers
Production Cost Support Reduces Investment Risk and Increases Employment
Impact Expected to Reshape Industry Structure Beyond Tax Cuts

Visitors are exploring the exhibition at the '2025 World Webtoon Festival' held on October 19 at Lotte World Ice Rink in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

According to an analysis, introducing tax credits for webtoon production costs is expected to generate more than 1 trillion won in production-inducing effects and create over 6,000 jobs over the next five years. Experts assess that this system will have a ripple effect on the entire national economy, going beyond simple tax reductions.

According to the "Study on Improving Tax Support Systems for the Webtoon Industry," recently published by the Korea Creative Content Agency, if tax credits are introduced, the user cost of capital would decrease by 12.33% for large enterprises, 12.063% for medium-sized enterprises, and 16.322% for small enterprises, respectively. The user cost of capital is a key variable that companies consider when deciding whether to invest; the lower this cost, the greater the incentive to pursue new projects.

According to the tax reform plan announced by the government in July, starting next year, tax credits of 10% for large and medium-sized enterprises and 15% for small enterprises will be applied to webtoon production costs. Park Geumcheol, Director General for Tax Policy at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, explained, "Webtoons are a sector in which South Korea has overwhelming global competitiveness," and added, "There was a consensus on the need for tax support to maintain industrial competitiveness."

The webtoon industry is characterized by a "high-risk, high-return" structure, making it difficult to predict box-office success. Tax credits help distribute this risk, providing companies with opportunities to revisit new project planning that they may have postponed.

CEO C of a production company said, "If we invest 100 million to 200 million won in a single work and it fails, the company can be seriously affected. With a 15% tax credit, we would get back about 30 million won on a 200 million won investment, which would make us much more proactive in planning new projects."

Visitors are exploring the exhibition at the '2025 World Webtoon Festival' held on October 19 at Lotte World Ice Rink in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

The Korea Creative Content Agency estimated the increase in investment by assuming tax credit rates of 10% for large and medium-sized enterprises and 15% for small enterprises. Applying the user cost of capital model and input-output analysis, the additional investment is projected to increase annually: 71.7 billion won in 2026, 85.8 billion won in 2027, 102.7 billion won in 2028, 122.9 billion won in 2029, and 147.1 billion won in 2030.

The cumulative additional investment over five years is estimated at 530.3 billion won. This tax support not only reduces taxes but also improves investment sentiment and provides indirect financial support to small production companies and creators who face difficulties in securing funds.

The ripple effect goes beyond the scale of investment. The production inducement coefficient of the webtoon industry is 1.945, meaning that an investment of 1 won in production generates 1.945 won of output in related upstream and downstream industries. The Korea Creative Content Agency analyzed that the production-inducing effect of introducing tax credits would increase from 139.5 billion won in 2026 to 286.2 billion won in 2030, with the cumulative total over five years reaching 1.0314 trillion won. The impact is expected to extend to secondary markets such as publishing, OTT, gaming, and merchandising.

Value-added inducement effects are also anticipated. The value-added inducement coefficient for the webtoon industry is 0.760, and with the introduction of tax credits, the value-added induced is projected to increase gradually from 54.5 billion won in 2026 to 111.8 billion won in 2030.

The job creation effect is also significant. The employment inducement coefficient for the webtoon industry is 12.168 jobs per 1 billion won. With tax credits, the number of jobs is expected to reach 873 in 2026 and 1,790 in 2030. It is estimated that a total of 6,453 new jobs could be created over five years.

Visitors are exploring the exhibition at the '2025 World Webtoon Festival' held on October 19 at Lotte World Ice Rink in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

Yeom Jeongwan, Senior Researcher at the Future Policy Team of the Korea Creative Content Agency, stated, "Although the newly introduced tax credits are currently limited to production costs, it is necessary to expand the scope of support to the entire industry, including distribution, in the future. Such expansion will bring even greater effects in the long term."

CEO A of a webtoon production company said, "With the introduction of tax credits, we will be able to pursue the discovery of new writers and experiment with new genres that we had previously postponed. In the long run, it will also help improve working conditions for writers and expand full-time hiring." He added, "Webtoons are an IP industry that forms the foundation of the OSMU ecosystem. If tax support is expanded, both market investment and new project development can be revitalized."

The Korea Creative Content Agency is establishing the institutional foundation for tax support through certification programs for in-house creative research centers and specialized cultural industry enterprises. Researcher Yeom commented, "Only companies recognized as in-house creative research centers are eligible for tax credits for research personnel development expenses. These two systems are clearly mechanisms that help bring the entire content industry into the institutional framework."