Money and Soul －Refining Considerations to Legalize Droit de Suit in Korea－

As in the experiences of other international and domestic legislations around the world, legalizing droit de suite (artists’ resale royalty right) in Korea has been a controversial issue. When the EU proposed in the course of Korea-EU FTA negotiations that Korea adopt this right, many artists welcomed this proposed legislation while distributors opposed it. The issue is still pending and the need to establish Korea’s position on this issue is growing rapidly as the Agreement becomes effective. Adopting droit de suite requires comprehensive, multifaceted deliberations. These same deliberations will also contribute to the implementation of the right if it will be accepted in the Korean legal system. While it is likely that droit de suite will eventually be integrated into the Korean legal system due to the call to respect copyrights and the international trend of harmonizing legal systems, from the economic or sociological point of view it does not seem sufficient studies have been done on this issue. Gaining an accurate understanding of the art field is also an imperative, since droit de suite is an artist-centered right