Bill to support livelihood of freelance artists

From as early as next year, screen playwrights and other freelance artists in film, performance and publishing industries may be insured against unemployment or industrial disasters like salaried workers.

According to a bill submitted to parliament this month, the government will draw up policies to guarantee the social and legal status of artists. It also calls for the government to fund a finance firm to support their livelihoods.

Proposed by Rep. Choung Byoung-gug, who also serves as Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the bill will come into force from June next year, if passed this session.

In a subcommittee meeting Wednesday, Choung urged other members to show more attention to 540,000 artists, saying that a majority of them live below the poverty line.

“Only about 57,000 of them are insured in four major welfare schemes. The bill will enable all freelance artists to benefit from the welfare programs as other industry employees,” he said.

Dubbed the “Choi Go-eun” law after the poor writer who starved to death this year, the bill will provide the legal basis for freelance artists to be eligible for four major welfare programs, which are national health insurance, unemployment insurance, industrial disaster insurance and the national pension.

Many freelance artists have complained of their insecure ob status, and urged the government to improve welfare for them, saying they are often not paid for months.

However, some employers of freelance artists are dissatisfied with the bill.

“This industry is different from others. Many rookies simply participate in long-term projects without a contact because at that point, they really are not qualified at all.

“When they present great ideas and performances, their formal employment starts. Before then, they are nobody. The government should first define what an artist is,” Lee Dae-hoon, a member of a national filmmakers’ association, told a local daily.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)