Push to Mandate Asset Disclosure for Executives of Copyright Trust Management Firms

Assemblyman Kim Jae-won Proposes Partial Amendment to the Copyright Act

Yonhap News Agency

Jae-won Kim, a lawmaker of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, announced on the 9th that he has proposed a partial amendment to the Copyright Act aimed at eliminating unfair elements in copyright trust management services and protecting the rights of copyright holders. This amendment bill is the second piece of legislation in the series of copyright system improvement bills that Assemblyman Kim is pursuing.

The current Copyright Act has no clear provisions to prevent and manage situations in which the private interests of officers, employees, or stakeholders of trust management service providers intervene in the course of their work. As a result, there have been repeated criticisms that trust management work may be swayed by the interests of specific individuals or groups rather than serving the interests of copyright holders.

The amendment bill would require copyright trust management service providers to establish mandatory internal standards and procedures to manage conflicts of interest involving their officers and employees. In particular, it explicitly requires officers and employees to separately report economic benefits such as remuneration obtained in the course of their duties and royalties or compensation arising from their status as copyright holders.

In addition, to enhance the transparency of trust management operations, the bill introduces a new provision requiring executives who are obligated to register their assets under the Public Service Ethics Act to disclose their registered assets each year on the relevant organization’s website.

Assemblyman Kim stressed, "Allowing conflicts of interest to go unchecked in copyright trust management services is no different from neglecting the rights of copyright holders," adding, "This amendment bill is a minimum measure to correct structural problems in trust management services and to establish a management system that copyright holders can trust."

Assemblyman Kim plans to introduce a third amendment bill on the 10th that would allow public institutions to be designated as compensation-receiving organizations in relation to the use of works for purposes such as school education.

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