Shin & Kim LLC (“Shin & Kim”) received the Minister’s Commendation Award from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (“MCST”) for its contribution to the industry of arts and culture by developing “11 types of standardized contracts in the fields of art” and by providing relevant guidelines.

In 2018, the MCST appointed Shin & Kim to carry out its project in developing standardized contracts for the arts industry. Thereafter, Shin & Kim successfully developed the “11 types of standardized contracts in the fields of art” and contributed to the introduction of standardized contracts in the arts industry for the first time. To date, there had been frequent disputes or violations of rights in the arts industry due to the industry’s customary practice of entering into transactions that either lack written contracts or take place in a unilateral manner. Shin & Kim developed standardized contracts through conducting hearings and in-depth interviews of relevant parties, and prepared guidelines that explain the terms and conditions of the standardized contracts to ensure easier use by the parties. The standardized contracts and guidelines were widely praised as contribution to the establishment of fair practices that greatly enhance the interests and rights of the artists. 

Furthermore, in 2021, the standardized contracts were revised to reflect various opinions from the industry as well as changes made in the art market such as online exhibitions and NFTs. In particular, the “Artwork Co-ownership Contract” and the “Addendum to Online Exhibition Contract” were newly developed so that the standardized contracts can be executed more effectively in various contract environments.

Members of Shin & Kim expressed that it is a great honor to be awarded the Minister’s Commendation from the MCST for its contribution to the industry of arts and culture and for establishing fair practices through developing standardized contracts and relevant guidelines. Based on the expertise accumulated by the Copyright Team, Shin & Kim will continue to take the lead in overcoming legal blind spots in the industry of arts and culture to protect the rights and interests for those who work in the field.

Shin & Kim’s Copyright Team, which successfully carried out this project, was led by Attorney Sang-Hyeok Im (concurrently serving as the Vice Chairman of the Korea Copyright Commission under the MCST and the Director of the Korean Entertainment Law Society). The team provides distinct services in litigation and transactions involving media contents. It has achieved unrivaled performance by winning 8 consecutive theater/film copyright cases and 2 consecutive music copyright cases. Also, other representations in various high-tech media contents include a dispute over transmission fees between terrestrial TV networks and cable TV system operators (SOs), and a claim for damages in a case involving web-linking to a copyrighted content.