Wind Breaker Webtoon Cancelled After Tracing & Plagiarism Controversy

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The South Korean tech giant, Naver Corporation, unexpectedly published the final chapter of its well-known manhwa titled “Wind Breaker“, which should not be mixed up with the martial arts manga of the same name from Japan. Naver has verified that the comic series has been discontinued because of claims of tracing and plagiarism. The author, Jo Yong-seok, also confirmed the cancellation in a statement, expressing regret to those upset by the allegations and acknowledging his failure to meet deadlines. Additionally, Naver, which manages Webtoon, expressed their findings from an internal investigation stating that “Wind Breaker” shares “similarities in composition and structure with another work.

In Jo Yong-seok’s “Wind Breaker,” the main character is an up-and-coming cyclist who takes part in a competition known as the League of Streets, alongside a team of other bicyclists. This popular sports manhwa on Webtoon has been running for close to 12 years, with its debut chapter published in December 2013. The series consists of 26 volumes and is available in English thanks to Naver’s Line Webtoon. Regrettably, Yong-seok won’t be able to give the story a proper ending, but he has shared the remaining manuscript on his blog for fans to enjoy reading.

Wind Breaker Author’s and Webtoon’s Official Statement

Jo Yong-seok and Naver Corporation have shared their comments tied to the concluding chapter of “Wind Breaker” on Naver Webtoon. While fans have translated these messages from Korean into English, an official English statement regarding the cancellation of “Wind Breaker” hasn’t been issued yet.

Jo Yong-seok’s Statement

Hello, this is Jo Yong-seok.

To begin with, I’d like to extend my heartfelt apologies for any inconvenience or upset that has arisen as a result of the recent accusations concerning the sources I utilized in my work. It appears that certain scenes I created share striking resemblances or nearly identical expressions with other works I did not intentionally reference.

This is clearly my fault.

For quite some time now, I’ve found myself in a perpetual sprint to meet deadlines. This relentless pace often led me to compromise the quality that, as a creative individual, I should strive for.

And I failed to keep them.

Above all else, I truly wanted to show the final story of this work to the very end.

Instead, cutting things short halfway is undeniably agonizing. I truly regret any inconvenience this may have caused to my readers, once more, I extend my sincere apologies.

To those who stood by me and had faith even amidst my flaws, I express heartfelt gratitude, and with humility, I offer an apology once more.

The Naver Corporation’s Official Statement

Hello, this is Naver Webtoon.

It has been verified that the manuscript for the Monday webcomic Wind Breaker shares resemblances in its writing style and structure with another piece.

Following consultations between the artist and the editor in charge, they opted to put a hold on further episodes and distribution of the work.

We are here to inform you of this decision.

We sincerely apologize for the disappointment caused to readers and many others.

Naver Webtoon places a high priority on ensuring originality of content and will diligently work to uphold copyright laws.

It’s unclear how the cancellation of the series will impact the English version on Webtoon Line. Although accusations of tracing and plagiarism are severe, some manhwa enthusiasts debate the intricacy of Yong-seok in online forums like Reddit. Maintaining a strict deadline and regularly publishing new chapters is an extremely challenging task, causing significant stress to creators. Many artists struggle under the weight of meeting deadlines. However, Naver concluded that Yong-seok had exceeded the boundary from artistic reference to outright plagiarism, leading them to cancel Wind Breaker.

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2025-07-12 05:09