'K-pop proved the music — now K-copyright leads the way,' says newly elected APMA chair Lee Si-ha

The chairmanship of the federation representing music creators across Asia and the Pacific has returned to Korea. With Lee Si-ha's election as the new chair of the Asia-Pacific Music Creators Alliance (APMA), the Korea Music Copyright Association — which has served as the federation's secretariat since 2021 — will continue to oversee APMA's administration and meeting operations for the next three years.

The Korea Music Copyright Association announced Tuesday that Lee was elected the new APMA chair at the federation's executive committee meeting held Oct. 29 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The election marks Korea's second consecutive chairmanship since 2021 and comes just eight months after Lee took office as head of the association. Founded in 2016, APMA brings together music creators from 22 countries, including Korea, Japan, Australia, China and India, and has worked alongside the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) to carry the voice of Asia-Pacific creators into international copyright policy discussions.

APMA cited the association's track record as the basis for Lee's selection. Since taking on the secretariat role, the association has channeled more than $160,000 in donations — raised from Korean companies and others — to 18 copyright management organizations worldwide, helping them acquire computer equipment and copyright management software, and has held hands-on training sessions for organizations that lacked collection and distribution systems. Lee has led a joint committee of six domestic music rights organizations in coordinating a response to AI copyright issues, and in March presented the "K-copyright model" — a framework emphasizing inter-organization cooperation and transparent governance — to the CISAC board of directors in Australia.

The new chair's top priority is protecting creators' rights in the age of generative AI. Lee plans to strengthen international cooperation to require disclosure of the sources of works used in AI training and to establish licensing and compensation standards that ensure fair remuneration for creators. Efforts will also expand to work with governments and international bodies to reform contract practices that disadvantage creators, such as buyout agreements that transfer rights in exchange for a one-time payment.

For countries with underdeveloped copyright management systems, the plan calls for providing technology and education support to narrow the gap with Europe and North America. As collection and distribution frameworks across Asia-Pacific are strengthened, royalties for Korean music — including K-pop — used abroad are expected to be collected more accurately.

"If K-pop proved Korea's musical competitiveness to the world, it is now Korea's turn to lead in the field of copyright," Lee said. "I will use the experience and capabilities we have built to drive change across the Asia-Pacific region and amplify the voices of creators on the international stage."