Recalling His Own Experience: "Even Intellectuals Have Poor Awareness of Copyright"
"400 Million Cases of Korean Content Infringement Abroad... Measures Needed"
"I was outraged to realize that even so-called intellectuals and people active in the cultural sector have such a poor awareness of copyright," said Yong Hosung, First Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, recalling his own experience of having his copyright infringed in the past. He appealed to the public to join in spreading a culture of copyright protection and respect.
On April 23, Vice Minister Yong participated as a congratulatory speaker at the proclamation ceremony for the "2025 Copyright Protection Campaign" held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Jongno-gu, Seoul. He drew attention by revealing his own experience of copyright infringement. "I have also had my copyright infringed in connection with a book I wrote some time ago," he said. "I noticed a familiar sentence in a book published by a university professor, and upon closer inspection, I found that an entire chapter from my book had been copied verbatim." He continued, "Another professor was a bit more creative and published a book by summarizing and combining the contents of two of my books into one. These were well-known, active professors whose names anyone would recognize."
Vice Minister Yong, who previously served as Director of the Korean Culture and Information Service and Director-General for International Cultural Affairs, has published several professional books on the arts, such as "Arts Management" and "Fundraising for Arts and Culture Organizations," and holds ten copyrights. He emphasized the need for measures to address copyright infringement not only domestically but also abroad. "Last year, there were about 2.4 billion cases of copyright infringement worldwide, and around 400 million of those involved Korean content," he said. "It is now time for us to come together seriously to find ways to address this issue."
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to launch an awareness campaign led by singer 10CM (real name Kwon Jungyeol), who was appointed as a copyright ambassador on this day. 10CM debuted in 2010 and has released hit songs such as "Americano" and "Hug Me," and is also active as a composer. He will produce a campaign song for copyright protection and participate in promotional content going forward. He shared his thoughts, saying, "I will continue to work hard, as I have done so far, to spread these important messages widely."
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