[Digital Today reporter Jin-ho Lee (이진호)] The Broadcasting Media Communication Deliberation Committee ordered the deletion and access blocking of link advertisements that use images that stimulate sexual imagination to lure teenagers to adult webtoons.

The committee on June 8 held a communications deliberation subcommittee meeting and voted to take the measure against 1,081 adult webtoon advertisements circulated indiscriminately on social media (SNS), blogs and community sites without any steps to restrict youth access.

The measure was taken to protect teenage users from provocative and suggestive adult webtoon advertisements. The committee previously conducted monitoring for about the past year jointly with the Korea Cartoonist Association.

Under the current Information and Communications Network Act, it is prohibited to send advertisements for media harmful to juveniles to teenagers via the internet or to display them publicly without measures restricting youth access. Violations can be punished by up to 3 years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won.

The committee pointed out that adult webtoon advertisements are not only a problem for their suggestiveness, but also pose a high risk of instilling distorted sexual attitudes in teenagers with strong sexual curiosity through provocative themes such as quasi-incest or coercive sexual relations.

It also stressed that, as K-content is drawing global attention, overly suggestive advertisements should be avoided to establish a healthy webtoon culture, and called on the industry to move toward self-regulation.