South Korea Adds Re-Licensing Procedure for Copyright Trust…

South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has established a formal re-licensing procedure for copyright trust management businesses, publishing the amended Enforcement Rules of the Copyright Act as Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ordinance No. 651 in the Official Gazette (Gwanbo) No. 21350 of 29 October 2026. The amended rules take effect on the day of promulgation, 29 October 2026. They add four new articles — Articles 19-4 through 19-7 — plus three new application forms.

Implementing a re-licensing regime

The revision implements the amended Copyright Act (Act No. 21595, promulgated 28 April 2026, effective 29 October 2026), which introduced a validity period for copyright trust management licences and new governance duties for the societies that collect and distribute royalties on behalf of authors. A companion Presidential Decree No. 36790, amending the Enforcement Decree of the Copyright Act and published on 27 October 2026, fixes the licence term at five years, with the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism empowered to shorten it to no more than two years where the interests of rights holders require it.

The rules apply to every entity holding a copyright trust management licence, and to compensation-receiving bodies designated under the Act — the organisations that license music, literary and other works and distribute the proceeds to members.

Timetable and paperwork for renewal

Under the new Article 19-5, a licence holder seeking renewal must file the re-licensing application form (Form No. 50-3) with the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism no later than six months before the licence expires.

The application must be accompanied by documents substantiating compliance with Article 105-2(3)3 of the Act — the provision covering statutory violations and compliance with corrective orders.
The Ministry must notify each licence holder of the renewal obligation and procedure at least nine months before expiry, by text message, e-mail, fax, telephone or written notice.
The handling period for the application is 90 days, and no fee is charged.
Officials must verify the corporate registration certificate through the shared administrative information system under Article 36(1) of the Electronic Government Act.
If the review is satisfactory, the Ministry issues a new copyright trust management licence certificate (Form No. 47).

Charter changes, managers and executive interests

Article 19-4 requires prior approval for any amendment to a society’s articles of association. Applicants use Form No. 50-2, pay no fee, and face a 10-day processing period; four documents must be attached:

a statement of reasons for the amendment;
the revised articles;
minutes of the general meeting or board meeting that approved the change;
evidence of the facts underlying the amendment.

Article 19-6 sets the qualifications for the professional managers that larger societies and compensation bodies must now appoint, as required by Article 106(7) of the Act. A candidate must satisfy one of three criteria: at least 10 years’ service at a trust management business, a licensed copyright agency or a compensation-receiving body, including experience at or above department-head level; at least 10 years at a public institution or other legal entity in personnel, finance, accounting, management or copyright-related work; or recognised expertise in copyright or management meeting standards set in the entity’s own articles.

Under Article 19-7, executives must report economic interests on Form No. 50-4, covering remuneration and allowances received from the society and, for members, royalties and compensation received in the previous fiscal year, together with any conflict of interest. The Enforcement Decree requires the report within 30 days of the end of each fiscal year, and within 30 days of a new executive’s appointment.

Who is covered

The obligations are tiered by size. The Enforcement Decree requires a professional manager at societies and compensation bodies whose combined royalty and compensation collections reached at least 20 billion won in the previous fiscal year and whose fee income reached at least 20 billion won, and mandates fully electronic general meetings for those collecting 500 billion won or more.

Why it matters

For authors’ societies and the broadcasters, venues and platforms that license their repertoires, the ordinance converts a one-off licensing decision into a periodic review, with renewal now hinging on compliance records rather than on the original grant. Societies face a fixed calendar for filings, tighter internal governance and public exposure of executives’ economic interests, while users gain a predictable five-year cycle and a clearer view of who runs the bodies that set their licence fees.

Source: Gwanbo (Official Gazette of the Republic of Korea), No. 21350, 29 October 2026, Section I (Ordinance), p. 11 (official reference: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ordinance No. 651).