- “Ceremony Marking the 20th Anniversary of WIPO–MCST Funds-in-Trust Partnership in Copyright” held in Switzerland on July 8

- A new 20-year vision presented: expanded contributions to WIPO, leadership in international AI and copyright discussions, and broader regional copyright cooperation

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister CHAE Hwi-young, MCST) held the “Ceremony Marking the 20th Anniversary of WIPO–MCST Funds-in-Trust Partnership in Copyright” on July 8 (local time) at the headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization (Director General Daren Tang, WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland. The ceremony was attended by delegations from 194 member states, and First Vice Minister Kim Young-soo delivered the opening address as the MCST representative.

MCST has established the Funds-in-Trust (FIT) at WIPO in 2006 in its efforts to contribute to narrowing global gaps in copyright and strengthning the copyright capabilities of developing countries. Over the past 20 years, the fund has supported the operation of 161 international conferences and training programs in total (with 4,125 participants from 97 countries), the co-administration of more than 2,350 copyright dispute cases, and responses to online copyright infringement, helping lead the copyright protection agenda of the digital age. Over these two decades, MCST’s cumulative contributions have reached KRW 14.6 billion. At this event, MCST shared the major achievements of the past 20 years of cooperation with the international community and presented a vision to strengthen cooperation over the next 20 years.

Spreading the K-Copyright Protection System Through Increased Funds-in-Trust Contributions and Additional Dispatch of Korean Experts

In his opening address, Vice Minister Kim announced before the member state delegations that Korea plans to expand its human and financial contributions to WIPO and take a leading role in international copyright norms. Marking the 20th anniversary of its FITcooperation with WIPO, MCST plans to increase volume of its funds by approximately 62.6% (about KRW 600 million) from the current level and to dispatch an additional Korean copyright expert to help developing countries introduce and deploy “K-Copyright Protection System” (Illegal Content Obstruction Program, I-COP). The Ministry also plans to foster a healthy international copyright ecosystem through the operation of this funds.

Meeting With the WIPO Director General and a Shared Understnading on Continued Cooperation to Address Copyright Issues Concerning Artificial Intelligence

Vice Minister Kim also met with WIPO Director General Tang to discuss ways to expand cooperation on shaping international copyright norms in response to the age of artificial intelligence (AI). WIPO has been taking the lead in hostinginternational discussions on AI and copyright through various channels, including AI Information Sessions on Generative AI and Copyright under the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Interchange (AIII), and the WIPO Conversation on Intellectual Property and Frontier Technologies all of which Korea has actively participated in.

Stressing the importance of co-existence of copyright and AI industry, Vice Minister Kim expressed Korea’s readiness to support WIPO in creating a platform where both technological and policymaking aspects concerning AI and copyright can be discussed in a comprehensive and inclusive manner to complement the already established fora hosted by the Oragnization. As an initial step towards achieving this this,  MCST plans to host an international roundtable on copyright and artificial intelligence(AI) in 2027 and continue to work hard to make sure that Korea will be one of the countries that lead the international norm settings regarding AI and copyright.

Pursuing Korea–UAE Copyright Cooperation and Expanding Copyright Diplomacy to the “Global South”

Vice Minister Kim also pursued copyright cooperation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). During his meeting with H.E. Dr. Abdulrahman Hassan Al Muaini, Assistant Undersecretary and Head of the Intellectual Property Rights Sector at the UAE Ministry of Economy & Tourism, the two sides agreed to pursue a Korea–UAE copyright cooperation memorandum of understanding (MOU) and broaden the scope of copyright cooperation between the two countries. The UAE is a major overseas market for K-content and is regarded as one of the countries in the Middle East with the most advanced copyright protection and enforcement systems. MCST values UAE as a key hub for copyright cooperation in the Middle and thus, plans to expand the scope of its international copyright cooperation—previously centered on certain regions such as Southeast Asia—across the entire “Global South,”[1] including the Middle East.

First Vice Minister Kimstated, “Korea has a world-class content industry and digital technologies, as well as an advanced copyright system.” He added, “Building on this visit to WIPO, we will do our utmost to further expand cooperation with the international community, protect the value of ‘K-content,’ and help Korea establish itself as a leader in shaping the future international copyright norms.”