Republic of Korea: Amendment to Copyright Act including copyright protection regulation was introduced to National Assembly

On 10 December 2025, the Partial Amendment to the Copyright Act was introduced to the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. The Amendment would apply to online service providers and telecommunications business operators. It would expand the definition of online service providers to include telecommunications business operators, introduce a statutory definition of "illegal copies", and classify the operation of or posting of links to Internet sites providing access to illegal copies for profit as copyright infringement. The Amendment would require the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism to establish comprehensive copyright protection measures every 3 years and to implement annual promotion plans. The Amendment would expand the membership of the Copyright Protection Deliberative Committee from 20 to 30 members and prohibit members from disclosing confidential information obtained in the course of their duties. It would empower the Minister to have public officials enter locations and inspect documents to discover illegal copies, and to order online service providers to block access to illegal copies where there is an urgent need to prevent irreparable damage and other remedies have been exhausted. A new emergency blocking procedure would enable the Minister to order immediate access blocking without prior Committee deliberation, subject to an objection procedure. Furthermore, it would increase the maximum penalty for copyright infringement from 5 years' imprisonment or a fine of KRW 50 million to 7 years' imprisonment or a fine of KRW 100 million. If adopted, most provisions would enter into force on 11 August 2026, while provisions on access blocking would enter into force on 10 May 2026.