A coalition of seven companies including Kakao Entertainment and Naver Webtoon welcomed the repatriation to South Korea of a suspect accused of operating an illegal pirated comics distribution site. The group thanked four government agencies, including the Culture Ministry and the prosecution and police, for sustained investigative and cooperation efforts. It called the repatriation meaningful progress in holding copyright infringements accountable and urged strict punishment and measures to prevent repeat offenses.

Major South Korean webtoon platforms are moving into short-form content as growth slows and competition for users’ time intensifies. Kakao Piccoma is adding a short-form animation category on Japan’s Piccoma, while Naver Webtoon, Ridi and Lezhin Entertainment are building their own approaches. The strategy aims to repackage webtoon and comic intellectual property into short videos to broaden touchpoints and drive paid conversion, with monetisation and revenue sharing emerging as key challenges.