Naver Webtoon "Increasing Webtoon Productivity with AI Without Copyright Infringement"

CEO Kim Jungoo Reveals Plans for AI Technology Utilization
Over 900 Works Exceeding 100 Million KRW in Sales Last Year
40% Average Annual Growth... 1.8 Trillion KRW Expected This Year

Naver Webtoon, entering the era of generative artificial intelligence (AI), announced its commitment to achieving innovation in creative activities without copyright infringement.

On the 24th, Kim Jun-gu, CEO of Naver Webtoon, introduced the webtoon industry utilizing AI technology at the Team Naver Conference 'Dan 23' held at the Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas.

Kim Jun-gu, CEO of Naver Webtoon, is explaining the webtoon industry integrated with artificial intelligence (AI) at the Team Naver Conference held on the 24th.

He stated, "We will conduct research that allows actual creators to use generative AI without copyright controversies." The plan is to innovate in terms of productivity and diversity of creation by learning only from images owned by specific artists, thereby avoiding copyright infringement.

CEO Kim said, "We are already effectively using AI technology in areas such as creative support, work recommendation, and work protection," and added, "We will independently research and develop numerous technologies for the webtoon ecosystem."

Naver Webtoon operates a 'Webtoon AI' organization, where various researchers and developers continue R&D from technologies that assist creation to copyright protection.

By steadily investing not only in content but also in technology, the company aims to transform into a 'story-tech platform.' He emphasized, "The creative area that provides creative support tools and the 'play' area where users can interact beyond just consuming works are important for the future of webtoons."

The Naver Webtoon platform hosts over 4,000 official serializing artists and more than 6 million amateur creators, with over 170 million users visiting.

The number of webtoon and web novel works with annual transaction amounts exceeding 100 million KRW surged from one work in 2013 to 904 works last year. Last year, 136 works generated transactions exceeding 1 billion KRW, and five works surpassed 10 billion KRW.

Naver Webtoon's transaction volume, which was 300 billion KRW in 2018, is expected to exceed 1.8 trillion KRW this year, maintaining an average annual growth rate of 40%.

CEO Kim explained, "Creators secure readers and revenue, and users can access more competitive content, establishing a global number one story-tech platform status beyond Korea."

The webtoon industry generates revenue through intellectual property (IP) business and meets readers in various ways. The webtoon 'Yumi's Cells,' serialized on Naver Webtoon, has been commercialized into a total of 116 products, including figures, published comics, dramas, beverages, and games.

CEO Kim stated, "As the world's largest story-tech company with the most creators and users globally, we will expand a healthy webtoon ecosystem through technologies, services, and policies that benefit both creators and users."

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