한국의 퍼블리시티권 입법 비판 ― 부정경쟁방지법을 중심으로 ―

Korean judicial decisions concerning the right of publicity have been marked by inconsistency, thereby redirecting attention toward legislative solutions. Although courts have generally acknowledged the practical need for protecting the right of publicity, they have been reluctant to recognize, through case law, a right comparable to a property right, effectively leaving the issue to the legislature. Amid competing legislative initiatives among government ministries, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy took the lead in 2021 by amending the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act to classify the unauthorized commercial use of another person’s personal identifiers as an act of unfair competition. This article argues, however, that such regulatory legislation is insufficient to support and govern Korea’s cultural industries, particularly those driven by K-pop. By analyzing subparagraph (ta) of the Act, the article demonstrates its limitations as a legislative mechanism for protecting the right of publicity. It further introduces key aspects of the author’s earlier proposal for a dedicated statute on the protection and use of personality identifiers, emphasizing the necessity of a rights-based legislative framework. The Korean experience with the right of publicity, especially debates surrounding its protection through unfair competition law, offers instructive implications for jurisdictions such as Japan that share comparable legal systems and regulatory environments.