Kim Jung-gu, Naver Webtoon CEO: "Big Tech Won't Easily Catch Up with Us"

Kim Jun-gu, CEO of Naver Webtoon, is holding a media briefing on the 10th anniversary of the PPS program at the Pangyo headquarters in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 25th. (Photo by Naver Webtoon)

Naver Webtoon expressed confidence despite the entry of globally renowned big tech companies such as Apple and Amazon into the webtoon service market.

On the 25th, Kim Jun-gu, CEO of Naver Webtoon, stated at a media briefing held at the Pangyo headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the PPS program, “It is not easy for (big tech companies) to catch up with us.”

Regarding the recent launch of webtoon services by major U.S. tech companies, he said, “Even if big tech companies appear, it is not easy for them to catch up with our user scale in the webtoon market,” adding, “If we were simply content providers, it might be easier for latecomers to play a new role in the market, but we are a platform.”

He continued, “Where there are many creators, users follow, and where there are many users, creators increase again. It is really not easy to catch up with these two at once.” This explains why it is difficult for big tech companies to catch up with Naver Webtoon as a webtoon platform.

He also revealed plans for utilizing artificial intelligence (AI). CEO Kim said, “We are preparing a lot internally regarding AI,” and added, “We believe it is meaningful for individual creators to use AI to improve production speed and quality, so we will take our first step toward using it to enhance completeness.”

Regarding illegal distribution of webtoons, he emphasized the role of the government. Kim explained, “The battle between the spear and shield to prevent illegal leaks continues, and we must continue to work with regulatory agencies and the government to block illegal content.” He further stressed, “Since this is a very meaningful industry that attracts attention from overseas and big tech companies, it is even more significant from the perspective of Korea as the country of origin, so I hope the government continues to pay attention.”

On the issue of content pricing following Google’s increase in in-app payment fees, Kim said, “Fortunately, operations have continued without sales impact,” adding, “Rather than our efforts, it reflects the high affection users have for the content.” In May last year, Google implemented an in-app payment policy raising transaction fees, and Naver Webtoon increased the price per cookie purchased in the app from 100 won to 120 won.

Regarding issues such as tax evasion by some creators, he explained that the platform follows a principle of minimal intervention. Kim said, “If readers leave due to a creator’s problem and the popularity of the work declines, that is the logic of the market,” but added, “However, I think intervention is necessary when it is clearly proven that laws have been broken.”

Meanwhile, the annual scale of the revenue-sharing model package ‘PPS program,’ established by Naver Webtoon to diversify creator earnings, has increased by more than 2 trillion won over 10 years. The annual scale of the PPS program, which was about 23.2 billion won in 2013, grew to approximately 2.0255 trillion won in 2022, marking a growth of over 2 trillion won in 10 years.

With the expansion of the PPS program market base, the paid content model has also grown significantly in the webtoon market, which was centered on free viewing. The number of webtoons and web novels recording annual transaction amounts exceeding 100 million won increased sharply from one work in 2013 to 904 works in 2022. In 2022 alone, 136 works recorded transaction amounts exceeding 1 billion won, and five works achieved transaction amounts exceeding 10 billion won.

Naver Webtoon plans to rename PPS from the existing ‘Page Profit Share’ to ‘Partners Profit Share’ and expand support for creators.

CEO Kim stated, “Based on the new PPS program, we will more than double the number of works with annual transaction amounts exceeding 100 million won to 2,000 by 2028, and expand the number of works generating monthly average IP business revenue of 5 million won to over 500 annually by 2025.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.