An amateur webtoon titled “The Otherworld Poong Poong Man” on Naver Webtoon has had some of its episodes set to private. The series recently faced controversy due to alleged misogynistic content. Naver Webtoon stated that the access was temporarily restricted due to the accumulation of user reports.
According to industry sources on the 24th, the 4th episode of “The Otherworld Poong Poong Man” on Naver Webtoon has been marked with a message indicating that it is temporarily withheld due to reports, making it inaccessible unlike other episodes. The episode appears to have been uploaded on the 23rd, following the series’ elimination in the second round of the “2024 Earth’s Greatest Competition.” Content is set to private when user reports are accumulated. Under Naver Webtoon’s internal policy, webtoons registered on the “Challenge Manhwa” or “Best Challenge Manhwa” boards are automatically withheld if they receive three or more reports.
However, in the case of competition entries, the blind actions due to reports are exceptionally deferred during the competition to prevent malicious reports aimed at sabotaging competitors. It seems that “The Otherworld Poong Poong Man,” a former contest entry, will no longer be subject to this exemption since the competition has ended.
A representative from Naver Webtoon stated that they would assess the appropriateness of the reports against “The Otherworld Poong Poong Man” in collaboration with an external advisory committee. Previously, Naver Webtoon had apologized for the inconvenience and concern caused to readers and webtoon creators due to issues related to the recent competition and announced the establishment of an external advisory committee as part of improving their content operation policies and processes.