WEBTOON Subsidiary Studio LICO Escalates Naver Labor Dispute Over Wage Parity

A significant labor dispute has intensified within the Naver ecosystem as Studio LICO, a prominent subsidiary of WEBTOON Entertainment, officially joined the fray following the breakdown of critical wage negotiations on August 12, 2025. This move escalates an already simmering conflict, with Studio LICO employees demanding full recognition of their "global incentives" as regular wages, a component previously only partially included in their base pay calculations. Furthermore, they are pushing for salary increments that mirror those recently granted to their counterparts at the parent company, WEBTOON Entertainment, highlighting a stark disparity in compensation structures.

The current unrest stems from Naver and WEBTOON's recent overhaul of wage agreements, which saw the phasing out of a long-standing stock grant program, valued at approximately US$7,500 annually. While 80% of this amount was integrated into the base salaries of direct Naver and WEBTOON Entertainment employees, subsidiaries like Studio LICO reportedly received a disproportionately smaller share, fueling considerable resentment and heightening tensions across the corporate landscape.

The gravity of the situation was underscored when approximately 600 union members, representing six Naver subsidiaries including Studio LICO, staged a powerful protest outside Naver's headquarters in Korea. This collective action brought considerable public attention to the systemic issue where these subsidiaries, despite performing vital functions essential to the parent company's operations, are paradoxically structured as subcontractors. This arrangement has led to demonstrable disparities in both pay and benefits when compared to direct Naver employees.

Studio LICO, renowned for its acclaimed production work on webtoons such as the globally popular Marry My Husband, which has seen successful live-action adaptations in both Korea and Japan, and the fantasy action hit Mythic Item Obtained: Idle RPG, available to English readers on WEBTOON, finds itself at the heart of this unfolding industrial action. The ongoing labor unrest not only spotlights the evolving compensation models within the digital content production sphere but also underscores persistent challenges confronting creative studios across the dynamic global webtoon industry.