WEBTOON Entertainment has restructured the leadership of its Korean arm. The company’s Korean subsidiary, Naver Webtoon, appointed WEBTOON Entertainment President Yongsoo Kim and Chief Administrative Officer Gyu-nam Kim as co-CEOs on October 1.
The move is part of a broader leadership restructuring that began at WEBTOON Entertainment in March, and it also settles the question of who takes over the subsidiary’s top job. Founder Junkoo Kim is stepping down as Naver Webtoon’s CEO to focus on his role as chairman and CEO of WEBTOON Entertainment, with an emphasis on long-term growth and global operations.
Who the two co-CEOs are
Yongsoo Kim will keep his position as President of WEBTOON Entertainment while overseeing Naver Webtoon’s operations. He joined the company in 2022 and previously served as chief strategy officer and head of its global webtoon business. He helped steer the company through its public listing and has led partnerships with global entertainment companies; as President since March, his focus has been company-wide operations and efficiency.
Gyu-nam Kim, meanwhile, will serve as both CAO of WEBTOON Entertainment and co-CEO of Naver Webtoon. He joined Naver Webtoon in 2018 and has overseen content policy, creator systems, content operations and anti-piracy initiatives. In his new role, the company says he will focus on working with Korean creators, partners, government agencies and industry organisations.
Why the company made the change
WEBTOON Entertainment said the new structure is intended to strengthen local management in Korea while improving coordination between its global operations and regional subsidiaries. That framing is telling. WEBTOON has grown into a business that spans Korean webtoon publishing, a global platform, and adaptation deals with film and television producers, and those arms do not always move at the same speed or answer to the same priorities.
Splitting the top job into a operations-focused president and a content-and-creators-focused executive is a common structure for companies trying to keep creator relations and global expansion under the same roof without letting either stall. Handing the Korea-facing role to an executive with a background in content policy and creator systems suggests creator relationships are a priority in the home market.
Why it matters
WEBTOON’s decisions ripple across the wider manga and webcomic industry, because the company operates one of the largest platforms for serialised comics and licenses an increasing share of its catalogue to anime and live-action producers. Leadership changes at that scale can shape which titles get promoted, how creators are paid and how aggressively the company expands outside Korea.
The timing also lands in a busy stretch for the platform business. This month brought news that Kakao Entertainment will shut down Tapas, removing a competitor from the North American webtoon market, while WEBTOON itself recently ran its first “Global Drop” event with The Warrior’s Ballad, releasing a title in nine languages at once. With less competition in some markets and more global ambitions, the new co-CEO setup is the structure WEBTOON will use to press that advantage.
There is no announced change to the company’s publishing schedule, its app lineup or its creator programmes as a result of the reshuffle. We will update this article if WEBTOON announces further leadership or strategy changes.
Source: Anime News Network.
Featured image: WEBTOON Entertainment corporate imagery, via WEBTOON Entertainment / Anime News Network.
