The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announces the revision of the standard contract for "strengthening basic rights of popular culture and arts trainees and youth."

*This content was translated by AI.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Choi Hwi-young) announced that it will announce two amendments to the standard contract, including the "Standard Agreement for Trainees in Popular Culture and Arts" and the "Standard Agreement for Youth Popular Culture Artists" to protect the rights and interests of trainees and youth pop culture artists and faithfully reflect the revision of the law on the field.

As the "Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act" was revised and implemented on August 1 last year, the standard contract included the details of prohibiting youth activities and the operator's obligation to designate a person in charge of youth protection. This is a measure to clarify the matters stipulated in the law from the contract stage and to strengthen the basic rights of youth and trainees.

First of all, in the "Standard Contract for Trainees in the Popular Culture and Arts Sector," the scope of treatment support, which was allowed only when trainees had "extreme depression, etc." was expanded to "depression, etc." so that planning companies could support appropriate counseling and treatment on the premise of the trainee's consent. The deadline for payment of damages or penalties in the event of termination or termination of the contract was also clearly defined as "a deadline agreed by both parties, including within ○○ days from the date of occurrence of the reason," enhancing the effect of preventing disputes.

In the "Annex Agreement to the Youth Popular Culture Artist (Trainee) Standard," provisions to strengthen the protection of basic human rights, such as the right to physical and mental health and the right to learn, have been added significantly. First of all, it explicitly prohibited acts that infringe on the right to learn by forcing school absences or dropouts, and expanded all physical and mental harms such as verbal abuse, coercion, sexual harassment, and sexual violence to prohibited acts. In addition, it has increased the effectiveness of securing the safety of adolescents by stipulating that it is not possible to force them to provide services such as filming or performing even though there are health and safety risks. In addition, a new provision has been established that the planning company is obligated to designate a person in charge of youth protection and notify the youth themselves and their guardians of the information.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism believes that the revision will systematically protect the basic rights of trainees and youth artists and reduce the possibility of disputes that may arise in contractual relationships with planning companies.

The revised standard contract can be downloaded from the website of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency from January 1, 2026.

"As the standard contract is the most widely referenced standard document in the popular culture industry, it should be continuously supplemented in line with changes in laws and industrial environments," a policy officer at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said. "We hope that this revision will further strengthen the protection of basic human rights of trainees and youth artists and increase the transparency and predictability of contracts."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.