Naver Webtoon halts popular 'Wind Breaker' series over tracing allegations

Naver Webtoon logo/ Courtesy of Naver Webtoon

SEOUL, July 12 (AJP) - Naver Webtoon has suspended its long-running sports webtoon "Wind Breaker" after the creator admitted to tracing scenes from Japanese manga, ending a 12-year serialization that had become one of the platform's flagship titles.

Creator Jo Yong-seok acknowledged the plagiarism allegations in the final episode revealed on Friday, confessing that some scenes in his work bore striking similarities to other comic book images.

The webtoon, which follows a protagonist's journey through amateur bicycle racing competitions, had been running since 2013.

Jo attributed his actions to the pressure of weekly deadlines spanning over a decade. He expressed deep regret for failing to uphold the standards expected of creators, offering repeated apologies to readers who had followed the series faithfully.

Naver Webtoon confirmed it had identified similarities in composition and directing between "Wind Breaker" and other works, prompting the decision to halt both serialization and service of the webtoon immediately.

The suspension marks another blow to the webtoon industry, which has grappled with recurring plagiarism scandals. Naver Webtoon faced similar controversies in 2023 with titles including "I want to date a girl" and "Can I Cancel My Confession"

Critics have pointed to the platform's inconsistent approach to handling such incidents. While previous plagiarism cases prompted official announcements, this latest suspension was disclosed quietly at the bottom of the final episode without separate notification.

The incident has reignited discussions about quality control measures in the rapidly expanding webtoon market. Naver Webtoon had previously promised to develop detection technology and strengthen monitoring systems following the 2023 plagiarism controversies.
Kim Dong-young Business Reporter davekim0807@ajupress.com

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