Blocking illegal webtoon sites lifted sales 36%, but piracy networks keep bouncing back

Sales on legitimate platforms for webtoon creators harmed by piracy rose by as much as 36 percent after the government introduced an emergency blocking system for illegal webtoon sites, new data shows.

The Korea Digital Content Creators Association held a forum Monday at the National Assembly Members' Office Building, co-hosted by Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers Kim Yong-min and Kim Nam-geun, to examine the effectiveness of emergency blocking measures against illegal webtoon sites and illegal gambling advertising networks.

The forum reviewed results of an emergency blocking system for copyright-infringing sites that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism introduced on May 11. Participants highlighted as achievements the system's structure, under which the culture minister can issue rapid emergency blocking orders upon detecting illegal sites, while the Copyright Protection Deliberation Committee conducts follow-up reviews to ensure procedural oversight.

Testimony from creators harmed by illegal webtoon sites put concrete numbers to the blocking effect. Hong Bi-chira, the artist behind the webtoon "Trauma Center: Surgeon Baek Kang-hyeok," said sales for the serialized title rose by as much as 36.3 percent immediately after the illegal site Newtoki was shut down.

However, she said the gains are difficult to sustain when sites resume operations or new addresses are shared online, and called for a system capable of continuous detection and response to repeated reappearances.

Korea Digital Content Creators Association President Kim Dong-hoon said the ministry's emergency blocking system was "the first policy change that creators could actually feel," but warned that illegal sites keep reappearing through alternative domains, address hubs, Telegram referral networks and CDN bypasses even after being blocked. He called for a public-private cooperation framework that backs the government's rapid blocking policy with on-the-ground data and technology.

Participants also pointed to the limits of manual reporting systems. A creator from YD Webtoon Story said creators "haven't failed to report — they've already reported far too many times," adding that despite filing complaints with the Korea Communications Standards Commission, tipping off platforms, and reporting overseas illegal translation sites and messenger group chats, illegal distribution networks regenerated faster than they could be taken down.

The forum also addressed how illegal webtoon sites function as part of a broader online criminal ecosystem linked to illegal gambling advertising networks. The Integrated Gambling Supervision Commission said exposure to illegal gambling advertisements through banner ads on illegal webtoon and web novel sites was serious, and urged relevant agencies to mount a coordinated response.

Earlier, on June 11, 134 creators harmed by the illegal webtoon sites Newtoki and Booktoki filed criminal complaints with the Korean National Police Agency and urged an intensive investigation timed to coincide with the extradition of the operator of Manamoa.

Newtoki, which had provided pirated content, announced it was shutting down in April. According to web traffic analytics firm Similarweb, the site recorded approximately 126 million visits per month just before it ceased operations. Similar sites using bypass addresses have since emerged openly in its place.

“김승규때문에 졌다” 출산 영상에도 ‘악플’…아내 김진경, 결국

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