Describe the main features of the policy/measure:
The Korean government enacted the Artists Welfare Act in 2011 to legally protect the professional status and rights of artists, to promote the creative activities of artists, and to contribute to artistic development by providing artists with welfare support services. Also based on Article 10 of the same Act, ‘Korean Artists Welfare Foundation’ was established in 2012. The foundation has provided systematic and comprehensive support for the welfare of artists and improved the environment for the promotion of creative activities of artists.
It was after the artist blacklist incident in 2016 that the higher demand was raised for securing the professional status and rights of artists within the fields of art and culture. In the following year, the 19th President (Moon Jae-in government) responded to this and one of the 100 national projects reflected 'ensuring the creative rights of artists and creating a fair ecosystem for the cultural industry'. In order to protect the freedom of artistic expression and the professional status and rights of artists as stipulated in the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, and as a follow up measure to prevent the recurrence of exclusion from public support in the fields of art and culture, related discussion began in 2017 and the Act on the Protection of Status and Rights of Artists, (hereinafter referred to as the Act on the Status and Rights of Artists) was enacted in 2021. The main points of the Act are protecting the freedom of expression of artists, protecting and promoting the professional rights of artists, and creating a gender equal creative environment. The law also stipulates that artists can organize associations of artists in order to protect their own status and rights.
The Korean Artists Welfare Foundation is promoting a project to build a creative safety net for artists based on the Artists Welfare Act and the Act on the Status and Rights of Artists. The main projects of the foundation are the creative empowerment project and the vocational empowerment project. In addition to basic creative activity support projects, they also operate a reporting and counseling center for unfair practices (2017), a sexual violence reporting and counseling center for artists (2018), and a reporting and counseling service for breach of written contract (2020). In addition, they introduced occupational health and safety insurance (2012) and employment insurance system (2020) for artists to protect the professional rights of artists. Currently, a loan support project (2019) is being promoted to stabilize the lives of artists.
Website of the policy/measure, if available:
What are the results achieved so far through the implementation of the policy/measure?:
In order to participate in the projects run by Korean Artists Welfare Foundation, artists as professionals must obtain a certificate for artistic careers. Since COVID-19, the number of artists who have completed artistic career certification increased greatly from 57,417 in 2018 to 129,450 in 2021. The number of artists who have been issued with artist pass after completing artistic career certification also increased from 58,125 in 2018 to 114,667 in 2021.
The Creative Fund Support Project has been running since 2015 and provides necessary funds (3 Million Won per person) for artists who are experiencing economic hardship. Since then, a total of 57,798 artists have received the fund support until 2021. The Artist Dispatch Support Project-Art Road is a project that supports collaboration between artists and local society so that artists can solve issues of companies, institutions, and villages through their artistic capabilities. So far, around 1,000 artists are being supported every year. Since 2020, a regional project is established, supporting local artists by building a cooperative system with eight regional cultural foundations (Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeon, Chungbuk, Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, and Gyeongnam).
In supporting child care of artists, Daehak-ro Bandi Care Center (Jongno-gu) opened in 2014 and Artists Child Care Center (Mapo-gu) in 2017. The purpose of the centers is to reduce the burden of childcare of artists and to provide a stable creative environment. Those who proved professional status as an artist with the certificate can use the service. 3,340 artists have used the facilities in 2021.
The occupational health and safety insurance for artists is a social insurance scheme for a freelance artist which allows them to sign up for a premium as an individual. The Korean Artists Welfare Foundation works as a proxy for administrative work in the insurance sign up, supporting 50-90% of the insurance payment. The artist employment insurance is promoted for the purpose of improving the mid- to long-term welfare treatment of cultural and artistic organizations (employer) and artists. Those artists who are under employment insurance can receive unemployment benefits of 120-270 days while seeking a job as well as 90 days of salary before or after giving birth. These social insurance schemes contribute to the establishment of a social safety net for freelance artists and the preparation of a stable foundation for creative activities.
Starting in June 2019, the artist life stabilization fund (loan) was introduced and started supporting ‘living stabilization fund loan’ and ‘jeonse fundloan’ for freelance artists who are financially vulnerable. Since COVID-19, a‘special loan’ was newly established and supported artists in need with the budget of 7.1 Billion Won in 2020 and 2.9 Billion Won in 2021.
Financial resources allocated to the policy/measure in USD:
85,762 Million Won, 65.278 Million Dollars /As of 2021
Partner(s) engaged in the implementation of the measure:
Has the implementation of the policy/measure been evaluated?:
NO