Copyright Law in the Republic of Korea

COPYRIGHT LAW IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA Kyu Ho Youm Copyright has been recognized as a right in the Constitution, statutes, and by custom in the United States and many other countries in the West for centuries. 1 By contrast, South Korea's experience with copyright has been limited. Professor Jeon Young-pyo, an authority on copyright in Korea, stated recently: The copyright history of our country is very short. A copy- right act was enacted in 1957, but it was like a dead law be- cause it was almost never enforced. It was not until the copyright law was wholly revised in December 1986 and it went into force on 2 July 1, 1987, that Koreans started to be aware of copyright. The wholesale revision of the Copyright Act in 1986 reflects the Korean government's efforts to respond to social and eco- nomic changes that have taken place in the meantime, as well as to international practice relating to copyright protection. ' 3 The impact of the Copyright Act has been significant. Chong Sang- jo, professor of law at Seoul National University, noted that since 1986 copyright has undergone more important changes in Korea than any other 4 field while Korea has transformed faster than other countries. A case in point is the explosive increase in the number of copyright complaints that were submitted to the Copyright De- liberation and Conciliation Commission (CDCC) and of copy- right suits that were filed in courts in Korea during the past 10 1. For a discussion of the history of copyright in Europe and the United States, see S.M. STEWART, INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT AND NEIGHBOURING RIGHTS §§ 2.01-2.20, at 13-27 (2d ed. 1989). For the historical foundations of copyright in England and the United States, see PAUL GOLDSTEIN, 1 COPYRIGHT § 1.13, at 1:26-39 (2d ed. 1997). 2. JEON YOUNG-PYO, CHULPAN MUNHWA WA CHAPJI CHONOLRIJUM [BOOK PUBLISHING AND MAGAZINE JOURNALISM] 504 (1997). 3. Paik Syeunggil, Republic of Korea: Revised Copyright Law Comes into Ef- fect, 21 COPYRIGHT BULL. 44 (1987). 4. Chong Sang-jo, Reflections on Copyright Decisions of 1994, 35 SEOUL TAEHAKYO POPHAK [SEOUL LAW JOURNAL] 238, 238 (Dec. 1994).