[2025 Audit] Culture Ministry Admits to 'Neglecting' Unregistered Entertainment Agencies, Launches Comprehensive Review (Summary)

Yang Moonseok: "Ten Years Since the System Was Introduced, but Zero Fact-Finding Surveys"
Intense Questioning on Oversight Gaps... Minister Hweeyoung Choi Admits "We Were Negligent"
Pledges to "Incorporate into Administrative Management System and Strengthen Registration Effectiveness"

Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young is speaking at the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee's audit on the 14th. Photo by Yonhap News

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has acknowledged its inadequate oversight in leaving unregistered entertainment agencies unchecked and announced that it will begin a comprehensive review of the entire system.

At the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee's audit on the 14th, Yang Moonseok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out, "Entertainment agencies are at the forefront of the K-culture industry, but 'popular culture and arts agency' businesses that remain unregistered continue to proliferate." He added, "Currently, there are about 2,200 registered individual agencies and about 4,500 corporate agencies, but there is not even a classification by size, and the status of unregistered agencies is not being properly tracked."

Assemblyman Yang further criticized, "Since the enactment of the Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act in 2014, the Ministry has not conducted a single fact-finding survey. Although the law clearly stipulates obligations for agencies to provide fair business practices, guidelines for protecting the rights of children and youth, as well as education on sex and suicide prevention, the system is effectively not functioning."

He continued, "The very reason this law was created a decade ago was to prevent such misconduct, yet the same problems are still recurring in the field. Passing responsibility to local governments is far too complacent an administrative attitude for a ministry that talks about the K-culture era worth 300 trillion won."

In response, Minister Hweeyoung Choi of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism acknowledged, "That is an appropriate point," and admitted to the lack of oversight, saying, "We have been negligent." He went on to say, "It is true that the management of agencies has been lax, and I will make sure to address this issue thoroughly."

The Ministry has consistently faced criticism that the registration system is ineffective, as there is no follow-up inspection or management of expiration dates after issuing certificates. Although registration is under the jurisdiction of local governments, the Ministry, as the supervising authority, has not established an integrated management system, resulting in a practical vacuum in field oversight.

Minister Choi stated, "We will take measures to ensure that unregistered agencies can register promptly and will incorporate related issues into the administrative management system as soon as possible. We will conduct a comprehensive review of the current state of agency management."

Previously, Asia Economy reported that some celebrities had established their own agencies and continued to operate for years without registering as popular culture and arts agencies. At the time, it was confirmed that actor Kang Dongwon, singer Song Gain, and singer Kim Wansun, among others, were running their own agencies without completing the registration process, and singer Sung Sikyung and musical actor and singer Ok Joohyun were also cited for the same issue. Some unregistered agencies participated in local government events or performances organized by the Ministry, but there was no procedure in place to verify their registration status.

This system was introduced in 2009 in response to exclusive contract disputes and celebrity deaths within the entertainment industry. Its main objectives are to protect the rights of entertainers, ensure industry transparency, and prevent the unchecked proliferation of agencies. The system has been fully implemented since July 2014, and operating a management business without registration can result in up to two years of imprisonment or a fine of up to 20 million won. However, in practice, there is no process for checking registration certificates, so unregistered agencies or individual operators frequently continue their business activities without interruption.

Alongside this, the Ministry is running a grace period for voluntary registration of popular culture and arts agencies until the end of this year, encouraging agencies to comply on their own. The National Tax Service is also paying attention to the possibility of tax evasion by some celebrity agencies, providing information on major types of tax evasion involving single-person celebrity corporations, and plans to respond strictly to illicit tax practices through tax audits.

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