Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Creates Fair Craft Ecosystem with Standard Contract for Craft Sector

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that it has prepared five types of 'Standard Contracts for the Craft Sector' to establish a fair contract culture in the craft industry and improve the rights and interests of workers in the craft field, and will implement them starting from the 1st.

According to the 2018 Survey on Artists, the rate of written contract experience in the craft sector was 28.5%, which is lower than the arts average of 37.3%. Therefore, even when issues such as non-payment of sales proceeds, consignment sales fraud, and copyright lawsuits occurred, it was often difficult to resolve disputes due to the lack of evidence through contracts.

Accordingly, since June 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in collaboration with the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation of Kookmin University, held explanatory sessions on standard contracts for craft industry stakeholders, expert public forums, and collected opinions from craft associations and organizations, thereby preparing five types of standard contracts for the craft sector and enacting them as a Ministry notice.

The five types of standard contracts for the craft sector include ▲Exhibition and Consignment Sales Contract ▲Consignment Sales Contract ▲Sales Contract ▲Craft Product Design Development Service Contract ▲Venue Rental Contract. Key contents include ▲Methods for settling sales commissions ▲Ownership and licensing of copyright and related rights of craft products ▲Matters related to transportation, installation, dismantling, and return of craft products ▲Employment insurance payment ▲Provisions for prevention of sexual violence and sexual harassment and victim relief.

The standard contracts and explanatory documents can be viewed on the websites of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Korea Craft & Design Foundation, and Korea Artists Welfare Foundation.

A Ministry official stated, "The standard contracts for the craft sector were established based on field opinions, reflecting the characteristics of the craft industry such as VAT imposition on craft product transactions, risk of damage, and storage difficulties," and added, "We hope that the introduction of standard contracts will prevent potential disputes and foster a fair contract culture, enabling members of the craft community to coexist and prosper together."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.