Gu Yeong-hyeon, front left, professor at Sejong University’s Department of Artificial Intelligence Data Science, and professor Han Chang-wan of the Department of Cartoon and Animation, front right, pose with members of their research team. Courtesy of Sejong University
By Park Yoon-bae
Researchers to develop ‘opt-out’ technologies to protect webtoon copyrights
A Sejong University research team has been selected for a government-supported research and development (R&D) project aimed at addressing copyright protection issues of webtoons and characters, the school said Thursday.
The team will be led by professor Gu Yeong-hyeon of the Department of Artificial Intelligence Data Science and professor Han Chang-wan of the Department of Cartoon and Animation.
The university said the team will carry out a global copyright issues rapid response project under the “2026 Culture, Sports and Tourism R&D Program” promoted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency.
The project aims to develop “opt-out” response technologies and evaluation models for the protection of character and webtoon copyrights in generative artificial intelligence (AI) environments.
Webtoon refers to a type of digital comic that originated in Korea and is designed specifically for reading on smartphones or computers.
A school official said the project is significant as the copyright protection of webtoons and characters has emerged as a key issue in the era of generative AI.
The team will lead the project for up to three years, conducting joint research with Seokyeong University, the Korea Cartoonist Association and IT firm PCN.
The official noted that the team will focus on developing unlearning technologies and evaluation frameworks that can respond to “opt-out” requests from webtoon and character copyright holders in generative image AI service environments.
Opt-out refers to the right of creators to request that their copyrighted works be excluded from AI training datasets or should not be used for AI training. This right has become a major concern in the global AI industry.
The research team plans to develop technologies applicable to both open-source and proprietary AI model services to protect character and webtoon copyrights.
The team will seek to develop unlearning technologies designed to remove copyrighted works and eliminate their training influence from AI models when such materials have been included against the copyright holder’s will. It will also focus on establishing copyright infringement analysis and evaluation models.
“Through the development of unlearning and opt-out response technologies for copyright protection, we aim to establish a digital copyright response infrastructure and lay the foundation for trustworthy AI utilization,” Gu, the project’s lead researcher, said.
He added, “We hope to provide a technological basis for strengthening the protection of copyright holders’ rights and guaranteeing their right to refuse AI training, while contributing to setting related policies going forward.”
He said his team will work closely with partner institutions to create a trustworthy copyright protection ecosystem, contributing to the protection of creators’ rights, advancement of the comics and webtoon industry and the strengthening of the competitiveness of the K-content industry.
The university emphasized that it will continue to expand research that integrates AI technologies with the cultural content industry, while taking the lead in creative interdisciplinary research and the development of digital copyright protection technologies in the global AI era.
Park Yoon-bae