According to industry sources, the Korean Digital Content Creators Association will hold its founding general meeting on June 27 to establish a non-profit organization. The association is composed of 78 members, including current webtoon and web novel authors.
Over the past year, the association has focused on combating illegal distribution of webtoons and web novels, addressing damages from illegal sites like Newtoki and Booktoki, and advocating for creator rights. This general meeting is a step toward transitioning the association into a non-profit organization under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
An association official stated, "We are pushing for the establishment of a non-profit organization based on our activities over the past year. As a collective representing webtoon and web novel creators, we plan to expand our scope under the ministry's oversight."
Currently, the only ministry-approved organizations related to webtoons are the Korea Cartoonists Association and the Korea Webtoon Industry Association. However, there are concerns that the Korea Webtoon Industry Association, which comprises companies, agencies, and publishers, does not adequately reflect the voices of creators. In response, the Korean Digital Content Creators Association aims to focus on digital-based webtoon and web novel creators.
The association plans to concentrate its efforts on eradicating illegal distribution of webtoons and web novels. Following the recent extradition of the operator of the illegal comic site ManaMoA to South Korea, the association and 134 affected authors from Newtoki and Booktoki filed a criminal complaint with the police. They urged for a swift investigation into the Newtoki operator and a thorough examination of any connections and complicity between Newtoki, Booktoki, and ManaMoA.
The government is also ramping up its response to copyright infringement sites. Since May 11, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has implemented an emergency blocking system for copyright infringement sites, issuing its first blocking orders to major illegal sites like Newtoki. However, Newtoki continues to operate by frequently changing its domain, raising concerns about the effectiveness of these measures.
An association official remarked, "The extradition of the ManaMoA operator is significant as it marks the first case of extraditing an operator of an illegal site residing abroad. We are just at the beginning stage, and we will continue to work towards eliminating copyright infringement and improving unfair practices."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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