Government to Establish Standard Contract for Web Novel Sector

Agreement Signed for Creating an Ecosystem Coexistence Environment
Administrative Notice and Public Consultation to be Conducted Within the Year Before Official Announcement

The government is promoting the establishment of a standard contract for the web novel sector.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Fair Trade Commission signed an 'Agreement for Creating a Win-Win Environment in the Web Novel Ecosystem' on the 30th with creators, production companies, and platform businesses. Going forward, the contents agreed upon by the Web Novel Win-Win Council will be concretized to induce growth in the industry ecosystem.

The core consists of three types of standard contracts: the web novel publishing rights contract, the exclusive electronic publishing rights contract for web novels, and the web novel serialization contract. The establishment plan will be announced after administrative notice and public consultation within the year.

Jeon Byeong-geuk, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, "Based on the agreed matters, we will spare no effort in establishing the standard contract and supporting the healthy development of the web novel industry." Cho Hong-seon, Vice Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, also promised, "We will support the firm establishment of fair trade practices in the web novel sector."

The Win-Win Council, launched in September last year, consists of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Fair Trade Commission, the Korea Web Novel Writers Union, the Korea Web Novel Writers Association, the Digital Content Creators Branch of the National Women’s Labor Union, the Korea Creative Story Writers Association, the Korea Web Novel Industry Association, the Korea Web Novel Association, D&C Media, Naver, Kakao Entertainment, Ridibooks, and Cheonggang University of Cultural Industry. They have held eight meetings so far to discuss various agendas, including responses to illegal online distribution of web novels, development of a standard identification system for web novels, securing revenue statements including sales information, guaranteeing the right to pause serialization due to accidents or illness, and guaranteeing the right to terminate contracts due to excessive delays in serialization start.

The win-win agreement includes the previously agreed matters and the government’s policy support directions. A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official said, "This is the first agreement reached by all major associations and organizations representing web novel creators, production companies, and platform businesses," adding, "It is significant in that it lays an important foundation for building mutual trust essential for the growth of the industry ecosystem."