South Korea launches public-private body to protect artists' publicity rights

South Korea's government and private sector are joining forces to respond more swiftly and effectively to the growing wave of publicity rights violations and counterfeit K-goods tied to the global spread of Korean culture.

The Korea Intellectual Property Agency said Tuesday it is launching a "Publicity Rights Protection Council" with five of the country's leading entertainment agencies — CJ ENM, HYBE, JYP Entertainment, SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment — at the Korea Intellectual Property Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

Publicity rights refer to the right to commercially exploit a celebrity's likeness, signature and other personal attributes. A 2022 amendment to the Unfair Competition Prevention Act made administrative investigations into publicity rights violations possible, and a corrective order regime was established in 2024, giving authorities a more effective enforcement framework.

Despite those advances, infringing content continues to spread rapidly online, and counterfeit goods persist in offline distribution — limitations that have made it difficult for individual agencies or the government to act alone. The problem has grown more acute as AI-enabled infringement has expanded, making regulatory reform increasingly urgent.

Reflecting those industry concerns, the agency said it will work with the major entertainment companies through the new council to share publicity rights and K-goods infringement cases, enable rapid verification of infringement information and link findings to administrative investigations and enforcement, strengthen the effectiveness of corrective orders, and identify regulatory improvements needed to address AI-driven infringement.

At Tuesday's launch event, participants shared major infringement cases from the field and discussed what policy and regulatory changes are needed to strengthen protection.

The agency plans to convene the council on a regular basis to continuously monitor infringement trends and assess policy and regulatory improvement needs. Through the council, it aims to further strengthen protections for publicity rights and K-goods.

"Protecting publicity rights and K-goods means protecting the legitimate value of the K-content industry," Korea Intellectual Property Agency Commissioner Kim Yong-seon said. "Effective action becomes possible when the agency's investigative and enforcement capabilities are connected with entertainment companies that know the field best."

Kim added that he feels a particular sense of responsibility, having led the push to amend the Unfair Competition Prevention Act when the publicity rights protection regime was introduced in 2022. "With today's launch of the council, we will work together — government and industry — to ensure that the legitimate rights of our artists and creators are respected," he said.