Korea’s Art Promotion Act: Artist Rights Receive Systematic Support

A turning point has been set in the Korean art world. Korea’s National Assembly recently passed the Art Promotion Act, which allows the establishment of a virtuous cycle of art creation, distribution, enjoyment, and registration in art-related service industries, including the art auction business. Until now, there have been individual laws covering literature, performance, publication, record, and film in Korea, but it was difficult to prepare systematic support because there was no individual law for art. As a result, there was room for artist rights to be expanded.

The core of this Art Promotion Act is the establishment of an institutional foundation for systematic art promotion policies, the establishment of an institutional foundation for supporting the art world, and the introduction of an Artist’s Resale Right. The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism decided to set a preparatory period for the law to take effect, reflecting the opinions of art stakeholders. Accordingly, the policy base will be established one year after the promulgation. The registration of the art service industry will be implemented three years after the promulgation, and the introduction of the Artist’s Resale Right will be implemented four years after the promulgation.

The most noticeable piece of the Art Promotion Act is the Artist’s Resale Right provision. This is the right for an artist or the copyrighted bereaved family to receive part of the profit whenever a work is resold. The Korea Visual Arts Copyright Association, a group of 21 organizations that includes the Korean Art Association, has consistently urged the enactment of the law.

The Art Promotion Act establishes a system to guarantee the rights of art creators in music, books, videos, and others. It is difficult for artists to expect additional profits after selling their works for the first time. Artworks are priced under the influence of the artist’s reputation for their creative efforts and activities, but the artist could not expect additional profits in the process of distributing the works. The Art Promotion Act recognizes an artist’s resale rights until 30 years after the artist’s death, and the rate will be set by Presidential Decree after collecting opinions from artists and other stakeholders.

This right was first introduced in France in 1920. Even if work by artists such as Vincent van Gogh would later resell at high prices, the artist and their family often remained in poverty. In the European Union, the Artist’s Resale Right recognition period is up to 70 years after the artist’s death, which is the same as the copyright period. However, the United States does not recognize the Artist’s Resale Right. 

After the passage of the Art Promotion Act, some Korean galleries and critics are concerned about shrinking transactions, saying it is too early. In particular, some say that the new Art Promotion Act will only benefit a few famous artists instead of helping new artists get established in the market.

Through the Art Promotion Act, various industries related to art distribution and appraisal such as auctions, galleries, art advisories, and art exhibitions will be incorporated into the system. In Korea, the art service industry has been operated as a free business without being incorporated into a separate system. Accordingly, the art service industry reporting system is meaningful in that it has provided a legal basis for support. The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism plans to prepare detailed reporting standards by reflecting the opinions of stakeholders as much as possible. In addition, minimum mandatory provisions that art service providers must comply with will be introduced to create fair transactions, distribution order, and consumer protection.

Bo-kyun Park, the Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, said, “K-art is an emerging powerhouse and blue chip in the cultural export market. In particular, as the domestic art market size estimate exceeded KRW 1 trillion (about $775 million) for the first time last year, the necessary institutional foundation has been laid for organized support in the art world.”