'My Mister' writer Park Hae-young takes aim at zero-revenue contracts, demands end to buyout practice: "Copyright law must change to ensure fair compensation"

The face of K-content stripped of copyrights: Buyout practices run counter to global standards

The Korean Broadcasting Writers Association and the Korean Film Directors' Guild were among six groups that formed the Creators' Alliance, which held a news conference at the National Assembly on the 12th and strongly urged lawmakers to swiftly pass the copyright law amendment. Hosted by Rep. Lim Oh-kyung of the Democratic Party, a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, the event criticized the unfair revenue-sharing structure of global online video services (OTT) and sought to protect creators' livelihoods.

Rep. Lim had previously introduced a bill to partially amend the Copyright Act on the 17th of last month, with protecting creators' rights as its central aim. The bill would establish a right to claim fair compensation, allowing creators to seek additional payment based on a work's success even after transferring its usage rights to major platforms such as Netflix.

Although K-content is generating enormous added value amid a global phenomenon, creators receive no share of additional revenue because they remain bound by so-called buyout contracts, which transfer all copyrights. The Creators' Alliance said global OTT platforms were abusing their dominant position to strip creators of their copyrights from the outset.

Park Hae-young, the acclaimed writer of dramas including My Mister and My Liberation Notes, offered a vivid account of the industry's grim reality. "Global platforms such as Netflix and Disney+ have pressured creators to give up copyrights, which are their inherent rights," Park said. "Most writers, who struggle even to secure a chance to have their work aired, are trapped by structural limitations that leave them unable to reject these one-sided demands."

Moon Hyun-sung, chair of the Korean Film Directors' Guild's Copyright Committee, also stressed that introducing a right to claim fair compensation reflects a global trend. "Creators in Europe and South America, as well as the United States, already receive appropriate compensation from global platforms based on the success of their work," he said. "Enshrining creators' right to a fair share in law is an unmistakable international standard, not merely a matter of protecting rights."