Seoul City Operates Fair Trade Support Center for Counseling and Relief of Unfair Damage to Freelance Cultural Artists

436 Consultations and Remedies in the Past 3 Years
Pre-Review of Contracts, Copyright Infringement, Payment Delays, and Preparation of Court Petitions
70% of Requests for Consultation and Contract Review in the Webtoon Sector Due to Webtoon Market Growth

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 12th that through the 'Cultural Arts and Freelancer Fair Trade Support Center,' the only one operated by a local government, it has completed counseling and relief for 436 cases of unfair trade damages suffered by cultural arts and freelancers such as webtoon and design artists over the past three years.

Seoul City established related ordinances and has been operating the Cultural Arts and Freelancer Fair Trade Support Center since 2019 to prevent and support relief for unfair trade damages experienced by cultural artists and freelancers. The support center has 30 professional legal counselors, including lawyers and tax accountants, who provide assistance via phone or face-to-face consultations, ranging from preliminary contract reviews for new cultural artists and freelancers to counseling and relief for unfair damages such as copyright infringement, forced unfair contracts, refusal of profit distribution, unjust contract termination, and tax consultations.

The number of consultations has also been increasing every year. In the early stages in 2019, there were only 90 consultations, but in 2020 there were 116, in 2021 there were 150, and as of the end of March 2022, there have been 80 consultations, showing growing interest and usage among cultural artists and freelancers. In particular, consultations from those working in literature and broadcasting fields have surged.

Meanwhile, by field, consultations from webtoon artists accounted for the largest portion at 45.4%, followed by illustration (15.6%) and web novels (9.6%). Seoul City attributed the high proportion of consultations related to webtoons and web novels to the increased demand for consultations due to the growth of the webtoon market. As of 2020, the webtoon market has grown to about 1 trillion won in scale, with a large influx of new artists, expanding its reach from dramas and publishing markets to the souvenir market, leading to increased demand for legal consultations related to secondary derivative work creation rights, overseas distribution rights, and other copyright issues.

By type, contract review and advice accounted for the largest share at 64.2%, followed by copyright infringement, delayed payments, and forced unfair contracts. Seoul City analyzed that the reason contract review and advice make up the majority is because although there are standard contracts for each cultural arts field, there is no obligation or enforcement to comply, and with the popularity of K-content, the number of new artists without prior contract experience or with short careers has increased, leading to a surge in inquiries related to contract conclusion.

Meanwhile, a Seoul City official stated that from this year, they plan to activate the center’s consultations, which have been increasing annually, and to drastically improve the consultation procedures to provide prompt relief and support. Han Young-hee, Seoul City’s Labor, Fairness, and Coexistence Policy Officer, said, “With the globalization of K-content, the number of cultural arts freelancers is increasing, but damages due to unfair trade practices are also rising,” adding, “We will make every effort to create a Seoul-type fair arts ecosystem where the value of artistic creation activities by cultural arts freelancers is fairly traded through the establishment of a fair trade environment and close support.”

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