Kakao Entertainment ups commissions to webtoon creators

Kakao Entertainment will change its commission policies so that more money goes to the creators of webtoons, the company said Wednesday. The adjustment to the revenue sharing formula comes just weeks after Kakao Entertainment's CEO was ..

Kakao Entertainment logo [KAKAO ENTERTAINMENT]

Kakao Entertainment will change its commission policies so that more money goes to the creators of webtoons, the company said Wednesday.

The adjustment to the revenue sharing formula comes just weeks after Kakao Entertainment’s CEO was grilled by the National Assembly for squeezing suppliers of intellectual property.

The company, which operates Kakao Webtoon and Kakao Page, promised to increase the average percentage of revenue creators and agencies under contract with Kakao Entertainment receive from 55 percent to 60 percent.

Currently, creators and their agencies — together referred to as content providers — receive about 55 percent of revenue, with 45 percent going to Kakao Entertainment.

Some creators get slightly more or less, as the rate is negotiated, though the average payout is 55 percent.

The company promised to distribute more coupon revenue, provide more marketing support and be more transparent with the creators about revenue distribution. Until now, details on revenue distribution were given to the agencies but not the individual authors.

“Kakao Entertainment will think carefully about what can be done for the local creative ecosystem and make changes accordingly,” the company said in a statement. “Not only how we divide the revenue with content providers, but we will also look for ways to nurture talented artists from the younger, lower-income population.”

Kakao Entertainment notes that the new policy applies to creators who receive “investment” from the company. These are advances that go to fund work before actual production.

Wednesday’s changes came after CEO Lee Jin-soo was grilled by parliament on Oct. 1 for the company’s alleged abuse of its creators by charging them high commissions.

The customary split in the business is 70:30, with the creators taking 70 percent.

The company will come up with additional measures to meet the demands of creators, Kakao Entertainment said.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]