Korea Music Copyright Association
South Korean copyright collective
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) is a South Korean nonprofit copyright collective that administers rights in musical works. It licenses uses including public performance, broadcasting, transmission and reproduction, collects copyright fees and distributes royalties to rights holders.[1]
 | |
| Abbreviation | KOMCA |
|---|---|
| Formation | March 15, 1964 |
| Type | |
| Purpose | Administration of copyright in musical works |
| Headquarters | Seoul, South Korea |
President | Lee Si-ha |
| Affiliations | |
| Website | komca |
Founded in 1964, KOMCA was the second collective management organization for musical works established in Asia, after Japan's JASRAC.[2] It was authorized to operate a copyright trust-management business in 1988, became a full member of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers in 1995 and joined its board in 2019.[3]
At the end of 2025, KOMCA reported 60,384 associate members,full members and non-member trust-contract holders. During the year, it collected ₩445.3 billion in copyright fees and distributed ₩403.2 billion in royalties.
History
Background and establishment, 1957-1964
After returning to South Korea in 1957, composer Son Mok-in established the Korea Popular Song Writers Association to promote the protection of songwriters' copyrights. The organization was dissolved following the May 16 coup and the government's consolidation of cultural organizations. Son subsequently sought government approval for a broader association representing popular music, classical songs, children's music and traditional Korean music, but his initial applications were unsuccessful.[4]
An 11-member organizing committee for KOMCA was convened on March 8, 1964, comprising one representative of classical music, one of traditional Korean music, two of children's music and seven of popular music. KOMCA held its founding general meeting on March 15 with 56 members, and Son was elected as its first president. The association received approval for its establishment from the Ministry of Education on June 19, 1964.[5][4]
Institutional development, 1978-1999
At its 15th regular general meeting on February 11, 1978, KOMCA formally divided its membership into full and associate members. It began publishing the association bulletin Music Copyright on July 20, 1986.[5][6]
KOMCA joined the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) as an associate member in 1987. On February 23, 1988, it received authorization from the Ministry of Culture and Public Information to operate a copyright trust-management business.[5][6] The association became a full member of CISAC in 1995 and joined the Bureau International de l'Edition Mecanique (BIEM) in September 1996.[5][7]
International expansion and growth, 2000-2013
KOMCA completed and moved into its headquarters building on April 7, 2000.[5] In October 2004, the association hosted the 44th CISAC World Congress in Seoul. The congress brought CISAC delegates to Asia for the first time in 20 years.[5][8]
On December 10, 2007, KOMCA concluded a reciprocal representation agreement with the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC), which took effect on January 1, 2008. Under the agreement, JASRAC administers KOMCA's repertoire in Japan, while KOMCA administers JASRAC's repertoire in South Korea, including licensing uses and collecting and distributing royalties.[9][10]
The agreement followed South Korea's gradual easing of restrictions on Japanese popular culture, which had begun in 1998. The remaining restrictions on the commercial distribution of Japanese music in South Korea were lifted in January 2004.[11]
The combined number of KOMCA members and trust-contract holders reached 10,000 in December 2009, and its annual copyright-fee collections reached ₩100 billion in 2010.[5] In 2012, KOMCA collected approximately ₩11 billion from Japan for uses of Korean music. Its collections from other markets were considerably smaller, including approximately ₩137 million from Hong Kong, ₩130 million from Taiwan, ₩100 million from Singapore and ₩58 million from the United States.[12]
Competition and continued growth, 2014-present
On September 12, 2014, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism authorized the Korean Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (KOSCAP) to operate a music copyright trust-management business. The authorization ended KOMCA's position as South Korea's sole trust-management organization for musical works and introduced competition between the two societies.[13]
As a condition of its authorization, KOSCAP introduced a selective trust-management system, allowing copyright holders to choose which portions of their rights to entrust to the organization. The ministry said that introducing competition was intended to improve the efficiency and transparency of collective management and the quality of services provided to rights holders.[13]
On April 20, 2015, the ministry approved revised KOSCAP rules for distributing broadcasting royalties. KOMCA's system assigned different weights to general music, theme music, background music and signal music, while KOSCAP's system did not distinguish between those categories and instead calculated distributions according to the duration and form of use.[14]
KOMCA and some of its members opposed the revised system, arguing that it would reduce distributions for general music and disproportionately benefit suppliers of background music. KOSCAP maintained that composers of background music had been disadvantaged under the previous system. The ministry clarified that KOSCAP's rules did not simply distribute royalties equally among all types of music, because duration and the form in which a work was used also affected the calculation.[14][15]
The combined number of KOMCA members and trust-contract holders reached 20,000 in March 2015, 30,000 in October 2018, 40,000 in April 2021, 50,000 in September 2023 and 60,000 in November 2025. Its annual copyright-fee collections reached ₩200 billion in 2018, ₩300 billion in 2022 and ₩400 billion in 2023.[5]
KOMCA was elected to the board of directors of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) in May 2019 and was re-elected in 2022 and 2025.[5][16][17][18]
In May 2024, during KOMCA's 60th-anniversary year, the association hosted the CISAC General Assembly in Seoul, 20 years after hosting the 2004 CISAC World Congress. Representatives of more than 75 CISAC member societies attended the assembly.[19]
Singer-songwriter Lee Si-ha was elected as KOMCA's 25th president on December 16, 2025. His four-year term began in February 2026.[20]
Operations
Rights administration and licensing
KOMCA administers economic rights in musical works entrusted by lyricists, composers, arrangers, music publishers and other rights holders. It licenses uses including public performance, broadcasting, online transmission, webcasting, reproduction, distribution and rental.[1] Its administration generally covers the underlying composition and lyrics rather than all rights in a particular recording. The use of an existing sound recording may therefore also require permission from performers and record producers.[21]
Royalty collection and distribution
KOMCA collects copyright fees from businesses and organizations that use works in its repertoire and distributes the resulting royalties to registered rights holders. The amount charged varies according to the type and extent of the use.[22] Under Article 105 of the Copyright Act, the royalty rates and administration fees of a copyright trust-management organization require approval from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, following consultation with interested parties and review by the Korea Copyright Commission.[23] Royalties are distributed according to KOMCA's rules and information identifying the works used. The association deducts an administration fee, which varies by medium and type of use, before making distributions.[24][25]
Online transmission has become KOMCA's largest collection category. In 2024, transmission collections increased by 15.5 percent to ₩198.9 billion, while reproduction collections associated with physical recordings declined by 22.1 percent to ₩93.3 billion.[26]
International representation
KOMCA administers works internationally through reciprocal representation agreements with foreign copyright management organizations. These agreements allow foreign organizations to administer KOMCA's repertoire in their territories and KOMCA to administer their repertoires in South Korea.[21] As of October 2024, KOMCA had agreements covering performance and broadcasting rights with 64 organizations in 61 countries, and reproduction rights with 38 organizations covering 42 countries.[21]
Membership and governance
Membership categories
KOMCA distinguishes between full members (정회원), associate members (준회원) and trust-contract holders (신탁계약체결자). Trust-contract holders authorize KOMCA to administer their entrusted copyrights, issue licences and distribute the resulting royalties. Entering into a trust-management agreement does not by itself confer association membership; trust-contract holders who have not joined the association therefore do not possess membership voting or candidacy rights.[27]
At the end of 2025, KOMCA reported 983 full members, 45,087 associate members and 14,314 trust-contract holders who were not association members, for a combined total of 60,384. The total included 392 music publishers.[28] The combined number exceeded 60,000 in November 2025, after having reached 40,000 in April 2021 and 50,000 in September 2023.[29]
Full membership
KOMCA promotes a limited number of associate members to full membership each year. Thirty people were selected in each of 2024, 2025 and 2026, with 27 places allocated to popular music and three to non-popular fields, including classical and other art music, traditional Korean music, children's music and religious music.[30][31][32]
Candidates are selected from among associate members according to factors including the length of their membership and the royalties distributed to them during the relevant assessment period. Promotion therefore does not depend simply on the number of works registered under a candidate's name.[30][31]
Full members may attend and vote at KOMCA's general meetings and possess voting and candidacy rights in elections for the association's officers. The general meeting decides matters including the association's budget and business plans, amendments to its articles of association and trust-contract terms, and the election of its president and other officers.[33][34]
Full-member status is not necessarily permanent. Members who fail to satisfy general-meeting attendance requirements may lose full-member status and return to associate membership. Former full members may subsequently qualify for promotion again; KOMCA's 2024 and 2025 promotion lists both included people who had previously lost the status.[30][31]
According to Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism data presented during a 2025 parliamentary audit, KOMCA had 958 full members in June 2024. They represented 1.7 percent of its combined total of 55,544 full members, associate members and non-member trust-contract holders. The proportion had declined from 8.8 percent in 2007 as KOMCA's membership and trust-contract population expanded while the number of annual promotions remained limited.[35]
Governance
KOMCA's board of directors comprises 21 members: a president, a senior vice-president, a second vice-president, 16 directors and two outside directors. The association separately has two auditors and one outside auditor. The president, vice-presidents and directors serving in the 25th executive have four-year terms from February 2026 to February 2030, while the auditors have two-year terms ending in February 2028.[36]
Lee Si-ha was elected KOMCA's 25th president on December 16, 2025, receiving 472 of the 787 votes cast. Composer Kim Hyung-suk received 309 votes and six ballots were invalid. Lee began his four-year term on February 25, 2026.[37][38]
As an authorized copyright trust-management organization, KOMCA is supervised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Under Article 108 of the Copyright Act, the ministry may require reports concerning its trust-management activities, inspect its administrative and financial affairs, and issue orders necessary for the protection of rights holders and the proper administration of copyright.[39]
Repertoire administration and disputes
Notable repertoire changes
Aegukga
From 1992, the economic rights in South Korea's national anthem, "Aegukga", were administered by KOMCA on behalf of the family of its composer, Ahn Eak-tai. KOMCA collected royalties for commercial uses of the anthem, including broadcasts and performances at professional baseball games. The family received an annual average of approximately ₩5.6 million, including about ₩8 million in 2004.[40]
On March 16, 2005, Ahn's widow, Lolita Ahn, donated the economic rights in "Aegukga" to the Korean public through the Ministry of Culture. The ministry subsequently asked KOMCA to remove the anthem from its trust-management repertoire, ending the collection of copyright fees for its use.[40] The donation did not include other works by Ahn that remained under the family's control, including Korea Fantasy, "White Lily" and "Arirang Hill".[40]
The Ministry of Culture later described the transfer as South Korea's first formal copyright donation. It stated that KOMCA had previously collected approximately ₩5 million to ₩10 million annually for uses of the anthem and that the economic rights would otherwise have remained protected until 2015.[41]
Disputes
Seo Taiji dispute
In May 1992, musician Seo Taiji entered into a copyright trust-management agreement with KOMCA covering his musical works. The dispute began after KOMCA gave after-the-fact approval to a recording and music video by singer Lee Jae-soo that parodied Seo's song "Come Back Home". Seo repeatedly asked the association not to authorize the parody and to take action against its distribution. In January 2002, after KOMCA did not take the requested action, he notified the association that he intended to terminate the agreement.[42]
In April 2003, Seo obtained a court injunction prohibiting KOMCA from administering his works. KOMCA formally recognized the termination of his trust relationship effective September 1, 2006. In December 2006, Seo sued the association for approximately ₩468 million, alleging that it had continued administering his works and collecting royalties despite the injunction.[43]
The Seoul Central District Court dismissed Seo's claim in 2008, finding that KOMCA had notified music users that his works could no longer be used following the injunction and that the allegation that it had continued collecting royalties was not established.[44] In December 2009, the Seoul High Court partly reversed the decision and ordered KOMCA to pay ₩50 million, comprising ₩40 million in damages and ₩10 million for emotional distress.[45]
In July 2012, the Supreme Court overturned the appellate ruling and remanded the case. It held that Seo's notice terminating the trust agreement had not by itself immediately transferred the economic rights back to him and rejected the finding that KOMCA was liable merely for failing to prevent unauthorized uses of the works.[46]
On remand, the Seoul High Court held that, until the economic rights were transferred back to Seo, KOMCA remained responsible for returning the trust income generated from his works. It ordered the association to pay approximately ₩268.17 million in distributions for the period from April 2003 to August 2006. In May 2013, the Supreme Court dismissed KOMCA's final appeal and upheld the award, ending the seven-year lawsuit.[47]
Regulatory oversight and criticism
In June 2025, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism published the results of its 2024 inspection of KOMCA and issued improvement orders concerning conflicts of interest, procurement, budget expenditure and organizational management.[48]
The ministry reported that two officers had participated in selecting companies connected with their current or former agencies to provide services for KOMCA events between 2022 and 2024. The companies received approximately ₩39 million, while the officers and artists represented by one of the agencies received a further ₩96 million in appearance fees and sponsorship payments. One officer had also participated in evaluating contractors for a KOMCA television advertisement that used one of his compositions, from which he received approximately ₩60 million in copyright royalties.[49]
The inspection also found that KOMCA had awarded construction contracts worth approximately ₩2.2 billion to a contractor that had no record of completed construction work and lacked the relevant licences. The association had also introduced an employee self-development budget of approximately ₩700 million without approval from its board and had not implemented a ministry order, first issued in 2018, to expand the number of full members.[48][49]
KOMCA said that it would comply with the improvement orders but disputed parts of the ministry's findings. It stated that the construction contractor had originally been selected through an open competitive bidding process and that licensed subcontractors had performed the work. The association also said that the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and external legal advisers had concluded that the officers' conduct was not covered by the applicable conflict-of-interest restrictions. KOMCA nevertheless said that it would examine deficiencies in the subcontracting process and strengthen its expenditure and documentation procedures.[50]
Officer compensation had separately attracted regulatory criticism. According to ministry figures released in April 2025, KOMCA paid its then-president approximately ₩343 million in salary, operational expenses and travel costs during 2024. In March 2025, the association increased the president's annual salary by 79 percent, from ₩108 million to ₩193 million, and applied the increase retrospectively from January 2024. Non-executive directors received an average of approximately ₩30 million each in meeting allowances during 2024, while KOMCA had not implemented a ministry order requiring it to establish an upper limit on those payments.[51]
KOMCA's membership and welfare system received further scrutiny during the 2025 parliamentary audit. According to materials obtained by lawmaker Lee Ki-heon, full members accounted for 1.7 percent of the association's members and trust-contract holders in 2024 but received approximately ₩2.923 billion, or 66 percent, of its ₩4.428 billion welfare expenditure. Associate members, who accounted for approximately 74 percent of the total, received about ₩74 million, or 1.6 percent.[52]
Korea Music Copyright Awards
On December 4, 2011, KOMCA held the inaugural Korea Music Copyright Awards at Olympic Hall in Seoul. The awards were created in recognition of individuals working behind the scenes (composers, editors, lyricists etc.) in the music industry. Songwriter Cho Young-soo was the first to be awarded the grand prize for earning the most royalties. Pop genre awards (ballad, dance, rock, hip-hop, and trot) were also given out, as well as awards for Korean classical music and children's songs.[53] Pdogg, long-time producer and composer for boy group BTS, is the most awarded songwriter in this category, having won the grand prize for five consecutive years between 2019 and 2023.[54] Bumzu won the grand prize in 2024, largely for his work with Seventeen.[55]