Companies Failing to Pay Artists Will Not Receive Government Support

Establishment of Response System Aligned with Launch of Rights Protection Committee

From now on, companies that do not pay remuneration to artists will not receive funding from cultural and artistic funds. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 29th that it will establish a more proactive response system to address artist damages in line with the recent launch of the Artist Rights Protection and Sexual Harassment·Sexual Violence Relief Committee. Based on the provisions of the "Act on the Status and Rights of Artists," which came into effect in September last year, effective measures will be implemented against companies that cause harm to artists. The Artist Rights Protection Committee is an organization that deliberates and resolves matters related to policies for protecting the status and rights of artists and reports of rights violations against artists.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will issue corrective orders for "payment of unpaid fees" and publicly announce the order if acts of refusal, delay, or restriction of profit distribution from artistic activities are confirmed. If the order is not complied with thereafter, support from cultural and artistic funds will be suspended. Issues related to entertainers' remuneration will be resolved using the lawsuit support system of the Korea Artist Welfare Foundation. Considering the characteristic that a short statute of limitations (1 year) applies under civil law, measures have been taken to secure remuneration claims stably. If a lawsuit is filed, the statute of limitations is suspended and extended to 10 years by judgment.

The Ministry also plans to establish a foundation for amicably resolving various disputes by utilizing the dispute mediation system of the Artist Rights Protection Committee. The counseling function will be improved so that victims can receive professional consultation and guidance from advisory lawyers linked to the Artist Sinmungo (Artist Complaint Center). A ministry official stated, "We plan to expand rights protection education for artists and planners, distribute counseling casebooks and relief procedure guides, and conduct sign language and text interpretation training to enhance on-site understanding."

Since the establishment of the Artist Sinmungo in 2014 until now, 1,515 cases have been reported. Among these, cases of refusal, delay, or restriction of profit distribution such as unpaid remuneration account for 1,156 cases (76.3%).