**Kim Yong-soo, New Webtoon Entertainment President Press Conference**
Emphasizing a virtuous cycle of creators, content, and users… “Expanding ‘Flywheel'”
“Focusing efforts on discovering works, supporting creators, and advancing technology”
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporters Ko Ga-hye and Jo Yoon-hee = It was revealed that Naver Webtoon has distributed over 4 trillion won in revenue to webtoon creators over the past five years.
On the 17th, Naver Webtoon held a press conference at Naver Square in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul, and announced that Webtoon Entertainment, the U.S. headquarters, distributed a total of 4.15 trillion won in revenue to creators from 2021 to 2025.
The company also unveiled plans to invest more than 70 billion won this year in discovering works and supporting creators.
At the event, Kim Yong-soo, who was appointed as the Webtoon Entertainment President on the 5th, made his first official appearance, introducing the achievements in creator support and the business direction for this year.
President Kim emphasized, “The success over the past five years was mainly due to the ‘Flywheel’ strategy, where creators, content, and users circulate in a virtuous cycle.” This refers to a structure in which the growth of creators leads to the production of quality content and the influx of users.
He explained, “Webtoons start with creators, leading to the production of good works, which then meet users and fandoms, contributing to revenue. As the success of creators equates to the success of webtoons, it is our primary mission to significantly increase the revenue distributed to creators each year, achieving major ‘numbers’ and mutual growth.”
Naver Webtoon plans to further expand the ‘Flywheel’ strategy to strengthen its growth potential this year.
To achieve this, the company will focus on three main business areas: ‘strengthening and diversifying user-generated content (UGC) and creator support,’ ‘expanding video formats and fostering mega intellectual properties (IPs),’ and ‘enhancing digital character and social functions.’
For creators, the ‘Canvas’ UGC platform will be revamped to allow amateur creators to showcase their works to global readers, expanding the base and connecting more readers. The company will also diversify its writing education and welfare programs.
In terms of content, Naver Webtoon plans to expand the video format to diversify webtoon consumption methods and accelerate the discovery and development of mega IPs. Naver Webtoon is already providing short-form animations through ‘Cuts’ in Korea and ‘Video Episodes’ in North America and pursuing multiple long-form animation projects in Japan.
Moreover, to increase users’ return visits and immersion, Naver Webtoon will focus on enhancing digital characters and social functions. It plans to upgrade the AI-based webtoon character conversation service ‘Character Chat,’ recently expanded to the Japanese market, and continue to introduce social features that connect creators, works, and fans.
President Kim noted that this strategy is applied globally, adding, “While the United States focuses on expanding the user base, Korea is making significant support for creators, and Japan is focusing on ways for rich local creators to grow within webtoons.”
Naver Webtoon plans to invest more than 70 billion won this year in discovering works and supporting creators. The funds will be used for contests, artist education and welfare, and global expansion support.
President Kim stated, “We will simultaneously achieve visible results through bold experimentation and quick execution, while also focusing on the essence of long-term growth such as creator support, discovering works, and advancing technology.”