"Pay Appearance Fees and Correct Unfair Contracts"... Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Issues First Correction Order for Artists' Rights Violations

First Administrative Order Issued After Enforcement of the Artist Rights Protection Act
Performing Arts Production Company and Literary Residence Operator Found to Violate Artists' Rights

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued corrective orders to production companies that failed to pay performance fees to actors and to arts business operators who forced unfair contracts on literary residence resident writers.

This corrective order is the first resolution after the establishment of the Committee for the Protection of Artists' Rights and Relief for Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Victims, and the first corrective order regarding violations of artists' rights since the enforcement of the Artist Rights Protection Act in September last year. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism may suspend or exclude financial support if the relevant business operators or organizations fail to comply within the designated period.

The Committee for the Protection of Artists' Rights and Relief for Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Victims held a plenary meeting on the 2nd and reviewed the case, confirming violations of artists' rights and requesting corrective orders from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The cases, initially reported as four and six incidents respectively, were consolidated and reviewed as two cases. Rights violations against 10 artists were confirmed.

According to the investigation, six actors performed in a musical for about two months last year but did not receive their performance fees. The total amount of unpaid fees was approximately 57 million KRW (minimum 7.7 million KRW to maximum 13.6 million KRW). Accordingly, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism ordered the musical production company to pay the unpaid fees.

Non-payment of performance fees accounts for the largest proportion (56.2%) of cases reported to the Artist Sinmungo (Artist Complaint Center). Since there is direct economic damage involved, prompt action is necessary.

The Ministry explained that more experienced actors are paid first, placing young actors at a disadvantage, and that under civil law, the statute of limitations for artists' performance fee claims is only one year. Therefore, they assist artists in securing their claims stably by extending the statute of limitations through legal support provided by the Korea Artist Welfare Foundation.

The Ministry also ordered the literary residence operating arts business operator, who forced unfair contracts on resident writers, to amend the contracts and submit measures to prevent recurrence.

The arts business operator, operating a literary residence with support from local governments, provided creative and living spaces to writers for six months and signed resident writer contracts and non-exclusive copyright license agreements, which became problematic. Four resident writers reported the unfairness of the contracts to the Artist Sinmungo.

According to the Ministry’s investigation, the arts business operator collected the writers’ signatures on the contracts immediately upon residency and then took back the contracts, violating the obligation to provide written contracts under the Artist Welfare Act. The writers had difficulty making informed and free decisions at the time of contract signing and could not easily verify the contract contents afterward. During the committee’s review, two cases of forced disadvantageous contracts and one case of forced unfair contracts were confirmed.

Furthermore, the call for writers and contracts did not specify the exact volume of works to be submitted by the writers, and the volume was unilaterally determined and notified when less than a month remained in the residency period. The residency contract included a clause stating that if there was no agreement on matters not specified in the contract or if there were disagreements, the residency’s opinion would prevail. The copyright license agreement presented conditions significantly more unfavorable than usual, demanding an unfair contract.

The Ministry plans to assess the status of contracts in artist residence programs nationwide and prepare a standard contract by the end of this year to prevent similar damages.

Since the enforcement of the Artist Rights Protection Act last year, a total of 73 cases have been reported. Among them, 10 corrective orders (consolidated into 2 cases), 5 cases resolved before action, and 3 cases closed have been processed, totaling 18 cases. Currently, 15 cases are under committee review, 3 cases are undergoing mediation between parties, and the remaining 37 cases are under fact-finding investigation.

Artists who have suffered rights violations can report through the 'Artist Sinmungo' and receive consultation and guidance from advisory lawyers linked to the Korea Artist Welfare Foundation.