Joseph Hwang
The issues addressed in this article are not only pertinent to K-pop idol trainees but also to artists who are preparing to make their debut.
1. Legal Relationship
K-pop idol trainees selected through auditions and production companies enter a contractual agreement. The production company invests financial resources for the training and education of the selected trainees, and the trainees sign an exclusive contract, agreeing not to transfer to another production company during the contract period. The act of investing in an individual is predicated upon the protection and respect of their personality and autonomy. Nevertheless, as the individual who has been invested has the capacity for free will, should they betray the investor and sign with another company, the investor is first obliged to bear the losses. The relationship between the production company and the trainee is proportionality, whereby the former bears the risk of loss due to the inalienability of the latter's human rights. Conversely, the trainee is subject to numerous constraints.
The contractual relationship between K-pop idol trainees and production companies does not align with the conventional definition of employment as outlined in the Labor Code. Despite this, the production company does retain the right to oversee and direct the activities of the trainees. The relationship is interpreted as such because the trainee is subject to the company's control, which serves as the trainer, to receive education and training.
The original artist agency contract represents a unique hybrid of a partnership, whereby the K-pop production company is afforded legal rights analogous to those of an employment contract under the Labor Code, due to the management and control of the K-pop idol. Furthermore, the profit sharing is calculated as a percentage of the surplus profit, with the deduction of the costs invested in the idol. This is a highly unusual legal relationship, and there is a scarcity of precedent-setting legal judgments. In the lack of a lengthy historical precedent, there is a paucity of institutional norms governing this distinctive contractual arrangement. Consequently, the courts have yet to establish a consistent jurisprudence in interpreting such contracts in the event of disputes. This remains the case concerning trainee contracts and the legal relationships associated with them.
2. Human Rights Issues
The human rights concerns that emerge when K-pop production companies enter into contractual agreements that grant them the authority to direct and supervise trainees are typified by the issue of invasion of privacy. The production company invests financially in the trainees, providing them with living expenses, educational opportunities, and training. If a trainee fails to make their debut, the production company may be unable to recoup its investment.
There are numerous reasons why a trainee may terminate their contract with a production company before their debut or leave an idol group. The most prevalent reasons are discord or incompatibility among group members, followed by emotional distress in the relationship with the company or dissatisfaction with management and supervision. Furthermore, how production companies oversee and manage idols who have already made their debut presents a separate set of considerations. This is the issue of romantic relationships.
The distinction between girl groups and boy groups in K-pop is largely attributed to the fact that most idols tend to be attracted to the opposite sex. This indicates that K-pop idols are more readily identified for their artistic abilities than their vocal or choreographic skills, as they must initially capture the public's attention through their appearance and image. This also implies that K-pop idol groups must appeal to the opposite sex to maintain their status as artists. Consequently, should a K-pop idol become embroiled in a romantic scandal with another fellow artist, or should such information become public knowledge, the idol's career could be jeopardized by negative responses from fans.
To mitigate the financial consequences of such a public response, K-pop production companies endeavor to prevent the distribution of information regarding their idols' relationships or to prevent the emergence of a scandal. This precautionary measure is often applied from the outset of an idol's training period. If an idol is deemed untrustworthy, the production company may finally suffer financial losses. This is why the idol's cell phone is frequently checked, whether regularly or unexpectedly. In certain instances, the exclusive contract for trainees stipulates that the production company's inspection of the trainees' personal information is contingent upon the consent of the trainees' parents.
3. Legal Regulations
Since the social issue emerged, the Korean government has enacted legislation to reinforce the legal protection of rights, with particular attention to youth artists.
To safeguard the privacy and reputation of artists, the South Korean government enacted the Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act as follows;
"Paragraph 2 of Article 3
(2) Popular culture business persons and popular culture production staff members shall endeavor so as to protect the private lives of popular culture artists and their honor is not lost."
"Article 21
(1) Where a popular culture business person enters into a contract with a youth popular culture artist, he/she shall include measures guaranteeing basic human rights, such as physical and mental health, right to education, right of publicity, right to sleep, right to rest, right to free choice, etc., of the youth popular culture artist.
(2) A popular culture business person shall not compel youth popular culture artists to perform excessive bodily exposure or immodestly erotic expressions."
This stipulation guaranteed the free choice and fundamental human rights of youth artists.
Nevertheless, despite these legal frameworks, the risk management strategies employed by the production company will ultimately prevail. This implies that the logic of power between the K-pop production company and the artist or trainee will prevail. Moreover, the trainees and their parents frequently try to bear the dynamics of power to overcome challenges and guarantee that their efforts to debut as a K-pop idol group are not in vain.
Some observers have noted that when a K-pop artist's personal life becomes embroiled in scandal, resulting in significant financial losses, it is a loss for both the production company and the artist. Given the likelihood of this issue occurring in real life and the example that it has already done so, it is hard to adopt a position on this subject. The human rights and agency of the idol should be safeguarded; nevertheless, it is challenging to achieve a balance between this and the implementation of measures to avert harm to the production company.
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