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Korean Gov't Official: Webtoon Piracy Cases Surge Eightfold in 4 Years, but 91% of Takedown Requests Fail

Takedown requests of unauthorized overseas distribution of Korean webtoons has risen nearly eightfold from 48,452 cases in 2020 to 393,038 in 2024, according to data released on October 1 by Rep. Sol Son of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee.

Despite the surge in enforcement efforts by the Korea Copyright Protection Agency (KCOPA), only 8.8% of takedown requests for webtoon piracy last year were successful—about 8,300 cases—leaving more than 91% of illegal copies still online.

The webtoon category now accounts for 77% of all Korean content-related takedown requests as of August 2025, driven by the global popularity of webtoons and increasingly sophisticated piracy techniques. In comparison, video content takedown requests rose only 2.4 times during the same period, while music-related cases declined.

Rep. Son pointed out that current measures lack enforcement power, as requests are not legally binding and depend on copyright holders taking additional legal steps in each host country.

The report also cited limited manpower and stagnant budgets as major hurdles. The Copyright Protection Division under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism currently employs just 28 staff members, which the report said was insufficient to process the rapidly growing volume of cases. The Interpol cooperation budget for international copyright enforcement remains frozen at 1.2 billion KRW (approximately US$870,000) for both 2025 and 2026.

This translates to a reduction in the total 2026 enforcement stipend budget from 54.88 million KRW to 53.28 million KRW, raising concerns that on-site enforcement capacity could weaken further.

Lawmakers and industry experts are calling for stronger international cooperation and binding legal frameworks to safeguard Korea's webtoon industry, now a leading cultural export but increasingly vulnerable to global piracy.

Source: News 1 (Jung-hwan Park)