Kakao Entertainment and Naver Webtoon disclose sales data, improve contract

Officials from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Fair Trade Commission, webtoon companies and the Creators Association pose for a photo after signing a non-binding agreement at the CKL Business Center in central Seoul on Friday. [YOON SO-YEON]

Kakao Entertainment and Naver Webtoon agreed to disclose sales figures and make contracts easier for creators to understand in a non-binding agreement signed Friday by webtoon companies, creators and the government.

The agreement comes from a committee formed last February by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to create a sustainable web comics ecosystem as the market continues to grow rapidly each year.

Despite the popularity of web comics, web content companies have been criticized for their unfair treatment of their creators, primarily in how they distribute revenue and the overwork of key creators. Executives from Kakao Entertainment and Naver Webtoon, who were subpoenaed in a congressional audit last year, promised better deals.

The terms of the agreement were drawn up during 18 meetings held by the Ministry of Culture, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), 14 creators’ associations and web comic companies, and were reviewed by academics and lawyers.

According to the agreement, webcomic companies must ensure that webcomic writers have enough working hours to complete their work, guarantee webcomic writers the right to vacation, and clearly state the length of each episode when signing contracts.

The committee will set up a fund in the future. The government will formulate policies to encourage the production of web comics with diversity as the theme.

The agreement is not legally binding, but will be used by the government to mediate any conflicts between creators and platforms in the future.

“The webtoon industry is indeed the fastest-growing among all types of content in Korea, but it has been suffering from various problems such as unfairness, overwork and monopoly,” said Chun Bingge, first vice minister of culture, sports and tourism. at the signing ceremony on Friday.

“Nevertheless, the committee was created to overcome this disease wisely. We believe it will be the foundation upon which a wellness industry can grow.”

Yoon So Yeon [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]