Ministry of Culture Opens 'Geomjeong Gomu-shin Legal Center'... "Correction and Relief of Copyright Toxic Clauses"

A Copyright Law Support Center has been opened to prevent a second "Geomeong Gomusin" incident.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Bo-gyun is taking a commemorative photo with attendees at the opening ceremony of the Copyright Legal Support Center held at the Seoul office of the Korea Copyright Commission in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 17th.
From the left: Lee Hae-kwang, Executive Director of the Korea Manhwa Webtoon Association; Shin Il-sook, President of the Korea Cartoonists Association; Minister Park Bo-gyun; Hong Bi-chira, Director of the Korea Manhwa Webtoon Writers Association; Yoon Da-bin, student of the Department of Manhwa Animation at Cheongju University; Choi Byung-gu, Chairman of the Korea Copyright Commission. Photo by Yonhap News.

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On the 17th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that it had opened the Copyright Law Support Center in cooperation with the Korea Copyright Commission and has begun full operation.

The opening ceremony was attended by Shin Ilsuk, President of the Korea Cartoonists Association (Chairman of the Lee Woo-young Case Countermeasures Committee), Lee Hae-kwang, Executive Director of the Korea Cartoon Webtoon Society, Hong Bichira, Director of the Korea Webtoon Writers Association, and Yoon Da-bin, a student in the Department of Cartoon Animation at Cheongju University.

Lee Woo-young, the cartoonist of "Geomeong Gomusin," had been responding to a copyright dispute with the character company Hyeongseol & Co. for over three years before passing away on the 11th of last month. It is known that Lee Woo-young suffered severe mental distress due to the "Geomeong Gomusin" business rights contract he signed with Hyeongseol & Co.

Park Bo-gyun, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, "'Geomeong Gomusin Legal Center' will closely monitor whether MZ and emerging artists who are unfamiliar with copyright have fallen into toxic clauses in copyright contracts and will actively work to correct and remedy these issues. It will serve as a safety stepping stone to ensure that tragedies like the Geomeong Gomusin incident never happen again."

The Copyright Law Support Center (1800-5455) was established inside the Seoul office of the Korea Copyright Commission in Dongja-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. It oversees copyright legal support functions that were previously dispersed among the Artist Hotline (Arts Welfare Foundation), Fair Coexistence Center (Korea Creative Content Agency), and Cartoonist Help Desk (Korea Manhwa Contents Agency).

The center has resident legal experts who provide legal advice on all aspects of copyright contracts, including interpretation and application of copyright-related laws and systems. By offering copyright services linked to legal support (education, dispute mediation, system improvement, etc.), it effectively protects creators' rights.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is also conducting a special investigation into whether the "Geomeong Gomusin" case violated the "Artist Rights Protection Act." A special investigation team, led by the Ministry's Arts Policy Officer and composed of six internal members and one external lawyer, is currently conducting the investigation. The Ministry plans to carry out interviews with the accused and witnesses by mid-May.

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