Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Announces Basic Plan for Artists' Welfare Policy
Encouraging Artists to Enroll in Employment Insurance and Expanding Support
"A Social Investment to Promote a Virtuous Cycle of Welfare and Creation~"
The procedure for 'proof of artistic activity' required to apply for artist welfare projects will be significantly improved. According to the 1st Basic Plan for Artist Welfare Policy announced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 19th, the validity period will be unified to 5 years, and reapplication will be exempted for artists who have been certified for more than 20 years. The 'limited proof' method, where artists had to prove their activity records each time, will also be converted to 'open verification,' allowing artists to directly manage their own careers. The certification tasks concentrated at the Korea Artist Welfare Foundation will also be distributed to regional cultural foundations and others. Kim Suhyun, Head of the Artist Support Team at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, "We plan to establish a foundation for maintaining fairness, including administrative, subcommittee, and full committee deliberations, as well as training for review members, in addition to efficiency measures," adding, "We also intend to revise the definition of 'artist' under the 'Artist Welfare Act' to clarify the target of artist welfare policies."
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will also raise the employment insurance enrollment rate for artists. Currently, the enrollment rates for employment insurance and industrial accident insurance are 27.6% and 28.5%, respectively. These rates are significantly lower than the social insurance coverage exceeding 90% for general workers, making artists vulnerable to crises such as unemployment and injury. The ministry will continue to promote the system and provide enrollment support counseling by holding 'visiting briefings' targeting regional artists. It will conduct surveys and coordinate with the Ministry of Employment and Labor to move away from voluntary enrollment methods. Various customized social safety nets suitable for the characteristics of the arts sector will be reviewed.
The ministry will also change the direction of budget support projects. Rather than rapid increases, the focus will be on broad support, strengthening connections with creative activities, and enhancing project integrity by preventing fraudulent claims. This year, the budget for the creative preparation fund support project is 66 billion KRW. Benefits will be provided to 23,000 people, 2,000 more than last year. Other support projects include artist-tailored public rental housing and low-interest financial services. The former will supply 260 units by next year. The latter already has a budget of 18 billion KRW allocated for next year.
In addition, the ministry will protect the status and dignity of artists by establishing the Artist Rights Protection Committee, opening a Rights Protection Support Center, and promoting written contracts. It will also encourage self-reliance by supporting the entry of prospective emerging artists into the art world and jobs for professional artists. Fifty-five billion KRW will be invested in newly established support projects for art university creative projects next year, and 3,000 emerging artists will receive 2 million KRW each as creative preparation funds. Team leader Kim said, "We plan to shift from benevolent support to social investment that promotes a virtuous cycle of welfare and creation," adding, "We will strive to build a dense safety net so that promising artists do not leave the art world and can continue their creative activities."
This basic plan serves as a milestone presenting the vision and policy direction for artist welfare policies over the next five years under the 'Artist Welfare Act.' It was prepared through research on plan establishment by a public-private joint subcommittee and about thirty rounds of field and institutional consultations. This is the first time the government has released a basic plan for artist welfare policy.
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