Naver Webtoon has shut down three major English-language piracy sites in a joint operation with South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korean National Police Agency and Interpol. Announced August 13, 2026, the takedown removed sites drawing more than 130 million visits a year and led to arrests of the operators, who were based in North Africa.
It is the largest webtoon piracy action reported to date, and the numbers attached to it are worth reading carefully — because one of the most widely repeated figures in the coverage does not add up.
What the Naver Webtoon operation covered
The three sites had been running since July 2024. According to Korean authorities, they distributed 83,688 pieces of content in that time, including 30,926 webtoons and 5,202 web novels. Around 300 Naver Webtoon titles were scanned and translated without permission.
Traffic was substantial: more than 130 million visits annually, with over 20 million in the three months before the shutdown. The sites primarily served readers in the United States and Europe.
| Figure | Reported number |
|---|---|
| Sites taken down | 3 |
| Annual visits (combined) | More than 130 million |
| Visits in final three months | More than 20 million |
| Total content pieces distributed | 83,688 since July 2024 |
| Webtoons / web novels | 30,926 / 5,202 |
| Naver Webtoon titles affected | About 300 |
| Investigation opened | March 2026 |
| Sites shut down | Mid-July 2026 |
Original insight, part one: the damage figure being quoted is wrong
Korean press reports put the annual losses at “about 20 billion won ($1.4 million),” and English-language outlets have carried that parenthetical straight through.
The conversion is off by roughly a factor of ten. Twenty billion Korean won converts to somewhere around 14 to 15 million US dollars at the exchange rates that have prevailed in recent years — and there is no point in modern history at which 20 billion won equalled 1.4 million dollars. That would require an exchange rate of about 14,300 won to the dollar, an order of magnitude beyond anything the currency has traded at.
So the correct figure is approximately 20 billion won, or roughly 14 million US dollars. The dollar conversion appears to have dropped a digit at the source and then propagated across every outlet that repeated it. If you see “$1.4 million” attached to this story, that is the error, not a different estimate.
This matters beyond pedantry. A $1.4 million annual loss is a rounding error for a company Naver’s size and makes the enforcement effort look disproportionate. A $14 million annual loss is a real business case for coordinating with Interpol across three jurisdictions, and it reframes the entire story from symbolic gesture to rational investment.
Original insight, part two: they hit the supply, not the demand
The detail buried in the announcement is that these three sites were described as primary sources — the origin point for unauthorized scans and translations that other piracy sites then redistributed.
That is a structurally different target than a big consumer-facing piracy portal. Most anti-piracy enforcement goes after destinations: the site readers actually visit. Those are easy to find, easy to publicize, and almost useless to remove, because the underlying files still exist and a replacement destination appears within days.
Going after the scanlation and translation node is harder and slower — it took Korean investigators from March to mid-July — but it removes the labour, not the hosting. Someone still has to acquire the raw chapters, clean them, translate them, typeset them and publish on a schedule. That is real, sustained human work, and it does not respawn just because a domain is available. Taking out three upstream sources plausibly degrades dozens of downstream sites at once.
Whether that holds is the thing to watch over the next six months. If English-language webtoon piracy visibly thins out rather than simply migrating, this becomes the template for enforcement. If the gap closes quickly, it confirms that the translation supply is more distributed than the operation assumed.
Why the announcement came a month after the shutdown
The sites went dark in mid-July. The announcement came August 13. That gap is normal, not suspicious — publicizing a takedown before arrests are processed and legal proceedings begin risks tipping off associates and complicating the local prosecution. The operators are reportedly now in legal proceedings in the North African jurisdiction where they were arrested.
One more detail worth noting: the sites had consolidated and rebranded under new domains to evade enforcement before they were caught. That is the standard survival tactic, and the fact that it did not work this time is part of why the case is being publicized at all.
What this means for webtoon readers
Korean webtoons have grown from a domestic curiosity into a major export industry, which is precisely why enforcement now runs through Interpol rather than a takedown notice. An operation spanning a national culture ministry, a national police agency, an international policing body and law enforcement on another continent is not what a niche piracy problem attracts.
For readers, the practical effect is that the legal English catalogue has expanded enormously in the last few years, which was not true when scanlation culture formed. If you are new to the format, our explainer on manhwa versus manga covers what actually distinguishes Korean comics from Japanese ones, and our webcomics binge list is a good starting point. Japanese publishers are moving the same direction — see Shueisha’s MANGA MILLION initiative, which put 400 manga online free in more than 100 languages.
Frequently asked questions
How many piracy sites did Naver Webtoon shut down?
Three English-language webtoon and manga piracy sites, operated by a group based in North Africa. The operators were arrested and are in legal proceedings in the local jurisdiction.
How much money did webtoon piracy cost?
Korean industry estimates put annual losses at about 20 billion won. Note that several English reports converted this as $1.4 million, which appears to be an error; 20 billion won is roughly 14 million US dollars at recent exchange rates.
Which agencies were involved in the takedown?
Naver Webtoon’s anti-piracy team, South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korean National Police Agency, Interpol, and local law enforcement in North Africa.
Will this stop webtoon piracy?
Not entirely. The significance is that the sites removed were upstream sources that other piracy sites redistributed from, rather than consumer-facing destinations, which is a harder target to replace quickly.
Sources: Anime News Network, Korea JoongAng Daily, and Digital Today.
