Korean Artists Welfare Foundation Steps Up Support for Mediation of Disputes Involving Artists’ Rights Violations

[Financial News] The Korean Artists Welfare Foundation has stepped up support for mediation in cases involving violations of artists’ rights, with the first agreements reached in cases including unpaid drama appearance fees.
The Korean Artists Welfare Foundation, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), announced on the 8th that it held its first dispute mediation meeting on the 3rd, handling four cases involving unpaid appearance and writing fees, among others. Three of the cases resulted in agreements.

The three cases included a drama appearance-fee case affecting around 20 artists, as well as cases involving unpaid book sales proceeds and unpaid scriptwriting fees. The foundation explained that the agreements were significant because they resolved rights-violation cases involving multiple artists through settlements between the parties before lengthy review procedures, leading to meaningful redress for the harm suffered.
The dispute mediation follows an amendment to the enforcement decree of the Artist Welfare Act, which took effect on June 9. The amended decree allows the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism to entrust the foundation with supporting mediation for disputes arising from violations of artists’ rights, in order to resolve such disputes swiftly.
Accordingly, the foundation is supporting mediation procedures for cases involving rights violations that have been filed with the Artists’ Rights Complaint Center and for which the parties have requested mediation. In the approximately two months following the amendment, through August, a total of 83 cases were filed, and mediation procedures are currently under way in several cases.
Dispute mediation is a system for resolving rights-violation cases arising in the arts through agreements between the parties. 
Jeong Yong-wook, president of the Korean Artists Welfare Foundation, said, "For artists, harm caused by violations of their rights can go beyond a simple dispute and become an issue that undermines the foundation of their artistic activities." He added, "We will actively support mediation procedures so that cases do not drag on and can lead to meaningful remedies for the rights that have been violated."
[email protected] Shin Jin-ah Reporter