Meeting Held... Listening to Voices and Discussing Relief Measures
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Congressman Lee Byung-hoon (The Democratic Party of Korea·Gwangju Dong-gu Nam-gu Eul) held a meeting on the morning of the 23rd titled “Meeting for the Improvement of the Art Activity Certification System and Measures for Artists Excluded from COVID-19 Support Funds” to listen to voices.
The meeting was attended by officials from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Artists Welfare Foundation, as well as field artists representing the community, including Park Jeong-ui (theater director·President of the Seoul Theater Association), Lee Jong-seung (actor·Chairman of the Performing Arts Labor Union), Lee Yang-gu (theater director·playwright), Bang Hye-young (theater director), and Oh Yeon-jae (actor).
Although supplementary budgets were allocated to support artists affected by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the administrative workload for issuing art activity certifications surged, causing many artists to fail to receive their certificates on time, resulting in a flood of affected artists. This meeting was held to check the on-site situation and find countermeasures.
The period required to issue the art activity certification initially took about 2 to 3 weeks, but due to the suspension of artistic activities caused by COVID-19, the number of artists seeking government support surged.
However, the institution issuing the art activity certification is limited to only the Korea Artists Welfare Foundation, which cannot handle the rapidly increasing administrative demand.
Last month, the government’s supplementary budget plan included compensation for about 30,000 artists, with up to 2 million KRW per artist. Since then, about 28,000 artists have applied for the certification and are currently waiting.
Regarding this, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated that it currently takes about 13 weeks.
The artists attending the meeting said, “If there is a document supplementation process or if one is rejected due to incomplete documents in the first round and reapplies, it can take more than 8 months.” They also added, “Because very strict requirements must be met to be recognized as an artist, many artists give up applying.”
At the meeting, it was also confirmed for the first time that being rejected from the art activity certification causes serious mental damage to artists.
One attendee said, “Within the same theater troupe, some received the art activity certification while others did not. Those who did not receive it inevitably feel a great sense of loss because they are not recognized as artists.”
Congressman Lee revealed at the meeting that he has proposed an amendment to the 'Artist Welfare Act,' which is currently pending in the National Assembly’s standing committee, and requested the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism officials present to do their best to improve the system, including revising the presidential enforcement decree along with the legislation.
He also stated that the National Assembly and the government will work together to prepare relief measures for artists who suffered damages due to not receiving their art activity certification on time.
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