The Korea Cartoonists Association and the Korea Webtoon Artists Association started a signature campaign calling upon Japanese authorities to clamp down on the operators of a pirate Webtoons platform there.
According to reporting by Korea’s Yonhap News agency, the operator of ‘New Rabbit’ moved to Japan in 2022 to avoid investigation. Despite multiple requests for criminal and judicial cooperation, the Japanese government, the operator has continued to engage in illegal activities. This has prompted the artists to request extradition of the criminal.
Yonhap reported that, as of August of 2024, the six major illegal content distribution sites in Japan had accumulated 260 million visits, 2.25 billion page views, and 12.2 million unique visitors. New Rabbit distributes Korean animation programs, while other sites run by the same operator distribute Web novels and Japanese comics.
Why it matters
While requests have been made, the associations felt that the Japanese authorities have not responded adequately and have decided to make public appeals to raise the visibility of the issue
Further reading
The comics industry is launching a petition demanding the extradition of the operator of the illegal webtoon “New Rabbit.” Article. July 22, 2025. by Lee Tae-soo, Reporter. Yonhap News Service (South Korea)
