The current Artists’ Welfare Act requires that a signed or named and sealed agreement (hereafter “written agreement”) be exchanged, showing the contract amount and duration, etc., when contracting for cultural/artistic services since May 2016, to protect the occupational integrity and rights of artists. The law also provides for a statutory fine of up to five million Korean won in case of contravention of the above-mentioned requirement. However, the Act does not grant any investigative authorities to check whether or not a written agreement was signed, and there is no legal basis for a correctional order either, which is creating difficulties for the written agreement policy to settle in the field and to be further promoted.

Therefore, this proposal seeks to contribute to the establishment of a fair creative environment for culture and art by discontinuing the custom of verbal contracts and by firmly establishing a written agreement policy through the granting of investigative authorities to the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism against failures to conclude written agreements pursuant to this Act, and through the enabling of correctional orders in cases of contravention (Article 4-3; Article 18).

The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism may require the culture/art planner, etc., to provide relevant reports or data, etc., and may issue correctional orders and/or administrative fines in cases where such requirements are not met (Article 4-3, paragraphs 4 and 5; Article 18, paragraph 1, subparagraphs 1-3 and 1-4).

Newly insert an obligation on the part of the culture/art planner, etc., to keep a written agreement, and impose administrative fines in cases of contravention (Article 5-2; Article 18, paragraph 2)