Culture ministry launches investigation into 'Black Rubber Shoes' contract

Kang Jung-won, spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, speaks on Thursday during a briefing regarding the investigation launch of the ″Black Rubber Shoes″ incident. [NEWS1]

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Thursday that it has launched an investigation into the unfair contract surrounding the beloved children’s comic series, “Black Rubber Shoes” through a newly-established task force team.

Kang Jung-won, spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said in a press briefing that the ministry had received an investigation request from the Korea Cartoonist Association through its public complaint board on Tuesday.

This comes after cartoonist Lee Woo-young, creator of the “Black Rubber Shoes” series, took his own life earlier this month in the middle of an ongoing copyright battle with his publisher, Hyungseul Publishing. Since his death, his family members have come forth to reveal that he had been severely struggling both mentally and financially due to the legal conflicts regarding his work.

Culture minister Park Bo-gyoon ordered that the investigation look into whether Lee’s tragic decision is directly linked to the unfair contract and to take strong actions.

The task force team, which will consist of experts in fields like copyright, the cartoon industry and publishing as well as lawyers, will inquire into whether there was any violation on the Protection of Artists’ Rights Act by investigating the publisher and other related parties.

Kang stressed that if the investigation finds anything that goes against the Rights Protection Act including coercing cartoonists into signing an unfair contract, the ministry will notify the Fair Trade Commission and related organizations to take follow-up measures.

The ministry will also establish a copyright legal aid center that offers legal advice to younger artists and finds ways to protect their rights and interests to their work.

"Although it's difficult to specify when the investigation will end, in past cases they usually take around 100 days," said Kang. "For this case, however, because it has been receiving attention in the media we expect to speed up the investigation process."

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]