Lee Jae-myung, a candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea presidential primary, instructed to prepare a plan for distributing regional budgets with weights based on the distance from Seoul and the metropolitan area. He sought solutions with officials from the webtoon industry, including quickly closing 'illegal webtoon sites.'
On the morning of the 18th, the candidate attended a 'webtoon industry promotion meeting' held at the cooperative Soy Lab in Buk-gu, Daegu. Attendees included Choi Seung-hyun, head of Netflix, Cha Jeong-yoon, director of Naver Webtoon, and Kim Seon-jung, director of Kakao Entertainment, as well as Baek Jin-soo, the original author of the Netflix series 'The Eight Show,' among other corporate representatives.
The candidate noted, "While military and economic power are factors that influence the world, I believe true power lies in culture," and added, "Cultural content was once merely a point of interest, but now it has become a vital resource that determines jobs, tourism, and soft power."
The candidate promised to support local cultural content industries by meeting with webtoon artists active in the Daegu region. In particular, during discussions on support measures, he argued that regional budgets should be weighted based on the distance from the metropolitan area. He also directed Yoon Hu-deok, head of the Lee Jae-myung campaign's policy team, to consider making a plan to weight regional budgets a campaign promise.
The candidate emphasized, "In every area, local regions are facing discrimination to the level of extinction, and there is really no reason for the cultural industry to be like that," stating, "We must consider distributing budgets with weights based on the distance from Seoul." He stressed, "This should apply to all regional budgets."
Attendees from the webtoon industry requested countermeasures against illegal sites. They pointed out that illegal webtoon sites infringe on the copyright of original creators and platforms, which can decrease revenue, calling for stricter criminal penalties and the establishment of legal grounds.
The candidate proposed quickly closing illegal sites instead of criminal penalties. However, he also displayed a lack of understanding of the webtoon industry by suggesting, "Aren't illegal sites helpful for promotion in the early stages of webtoon serialization?" and noted that people "download webtoon files."
After the meeting, the candidate met with reporters and, when asked about the reason for visiting Daegu, said, "I was born in Andong and grew up eating the food and water of Daegu and Gyeongbuk," adding, "I have a special affection for this region and wanted to discuss policies for balanced national development in the area."