Proposal for 'Comics and Webtoon Copyright Day' on the Anniversary of Late Artist Lee Woo-young's Death

Webtoon Association: "Necessary for Establishing a Culture of Copyright Law Compliance"

The Webtoon Association proposed designating March 11 as "Korean Comics and Webtoon Copyright Day" to honor the late Lee Woo-young, the creator of the comic 'Gomjeong Gomu-shin,' who passed away amid a copyright dispute.

The Webtoon Association emphasized, "It is necessary to designate 'Korean Comics and Webtoon Copyright Day' to establish a socio-cultural environment where all members?including creators, readers who consume creative works, and producers who distribute them?protect copyrights and comply with copyright law," adding, "We propose designating March 11 every year as 'Korean Comics and Webtoon Copyright Day' to honor the late Lee Woo-young's legacy."

Special Memorial Exhibition for Artist Lee Woo-young 'Lee Woo-young 1972 - 2023: Every Day, My Work Black Rubber Shoes'
[Photo by Yonhap News]

They continued, "First, we hope to commemorate this day as a private designation rather than a government one, remembering the late Lee Woo-young and simultaneously expecting the establishment of a proper copyright culture in our society," and requested, "We ask the entire comics and webtoon industry to actively participate in this meaningful cause."

Lee Woo-young, the creator of the comic 'Gomjeong Gomu-shin,' was found dead at his home on March 11. 'Gomjeong Gomu-shin' has been credited to four co-authors, including Lee Young-il, who was responsible for the story, and Jang Jin-hyuk, CEO of the character company Hyeongseol & Co. Hyeongseol & Co. conducted various businesses based on joint authorship registration of the characters and business contracts, but Lee Woo-young reportedly suffered from a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by CEO Jang Jin-hyuk, who claimed that Lee used the characters in his own creations.

Following Lee's death, issues related to protecting creators' copyrights and unfair contracts have come under scrutiny in the comics industry.

The Korea Copyright Commission recently revoked the author registration for nine 'Gomjeong Gomu-shin' characters ex officio. The characters removed include Gi-yeong, Gi-cheol, Ddaeng-gu, Gi-yeong's father, mother, grandmother, grandfather, Do-seung, and Gyeong-ju. As a result, only Lee Woo-young is recognized as the sole author of 'Gomjeong Gomu-shin.'

This is the first time since the introduction of the 'ex officio cancellation registration system' in August 2020 that the Copyright Commission has revoked author registration ex officio. The Commission explained, "It is significant in clarifying that those who did not actually participate in creation cannot be considered authors."

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