KOMCA to Shift from Full-Member-Centered Governance... Voting Rights for 60,000 Members

Voting rights vary by membership tier... first system overhaul in 62 years

Lee Siha, chairman of KOMCA. Photo courtesy of KOMCA.

The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) will extend voting rights at its general assembly, previously granted only to full members, to all approximately 60,000 members.

According to KOMCA on October 23, the association held an extraordinary general assembly on October 20 and approved amendments to its bylaws. The measure is intended to change its decision-making structure in line with the revised Copyright Act, which takes effect on October 29. The amended bylaws will take effect after receiving approval for the changes from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The current membership system, divided into full and general members, will be reorganized into four tiers: full members, associate members, general members and new members. Members who meet set criteria, including membership duration and copyright royalty distributions, may apply for promotion to a higher tier. There will be no limit on the number of members who can be promoted.

At general assemblies, full members will receive 150 votes, associate members 80 votes, general members 15 votes and new members one vote. General members, who have so far been unable to vote on general assembly agenda items, will also be able to participate in the association's operations. Differences in voting rights by membership tier were determined in consideration of factors such as the length of members' involvement in the association and their contributions.

Elections for executives, including the chair, directors and auditor, as well as council members, will be separated from votes on general assembly agenda items. Voting eligibility will be expanded from full members to include associate members, while candidacy will remain limited to full members. Unlike votes on general assembly matters, elections for executives and council members will allow no proxy voting; each eligible member must cast their own vote, with one vote per person.

Starting in 2027, the association will also introduce online general assemblies and advance electronic voting. Members will be able to follow meetings online and vote on agenda items without attending in person. They will also be able to cast their votes in advance of a general assembly. The association plans to establish procedures for identity verification and retaining access records, while also protecting personal information and individual voting choices.

The association will also revise members' rights to authorize the use of their works and its operational rules. Going forward, members will be able to directly authorize people to use music they have entrusted to the association for management, provided the use is for nonprofit purposes. The association also plans to regularly publicize its copyright management rules and any changes, and to revise relevant standards, disciplinary procedures and information disclosure practices to ensure that executives' private interests do not affect their work.

KOMCA plans to establish detailed rules after receiving approval from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and to implement the new system in stages.

Lee Siha, chairman of KOMCA, said, "The members are the owners of the association, and their views should be broadly reflected in important decisions. We will expand member participation and strengthen the executive body's accountability."

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