Are idols also ‘workers’? Questions left by Hani’s testimony [All That Check]

Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Employment and Labor determines that it is difficult to regard former celebrities as employees.
Celebrity exclusive contracts are judged to be delegation contracts under civil law.
In order to recognize workers, there must be ‘subordination’ and ‘compulsoryness’.

Hani, a member of the girl group New Jeans, appeared at the National Assembly Audit Office on the 15th to testify about workplace bullying, saying she was ostracized at the entertainment agency Hive.

On this day, Hani shed tears, saying that this was not the first time something like this had happened and that this would not have happened if we respected each other as human beings.

New Jeans fans reported Adore and Hive officials to the police, and it is known that about 100 complaints were also filed with the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

Now the ball is in the hands of the Department of Labor.

The issue is whether New Genes members who have signed individual contracts with their agency are recognized as workers.

Netizens“Freelance and self-employed workers? Make all non-employed self-employed workers workers.”, “Are idols workers? Although they belong to an agency, they don’t receive a fixed salary.”, “Where are the workers who earn several billion won?”, “Shouldn’t all office workers in the country with a monthly salary of less than 300 be subject to a national inspection?”, “Are idols earned income? Are they business income earners?”He responded that celebrities with different salary levels are not included as workers.

the other side“Workers outside of the workforce are also people. We need to protect them.”, “We are all human beings, so it’s hard to argue whether they are workers or not.”, “Asking whether or not they are workers based on how much money they make is misleading the point, and the purpose of this National Assembly inspection is to guarantee the human rights of special workers, including celebrities.”, “There must have been a lot of unfairness that many young trainees and idols were unable to speak about because they were in their blind spots.”There was also a reaction like this.

Based on past government judgments, it was difficult to classify celebrities who sign exclusive contracts as workers under the Labor Standards Act.

A ‘worker’ under the Labor Standards Act is defined as “a person who is subordinate to the employer and provides labor for wages.”

Most celebrities work under an exclusive contract with an agency, and the agency manages the celebrity's activities and shares the profits. However, since the agency is entrusted with the celebrity's work and performs it faithfully, such a contract is generally judged to be a delegation contract or contract based on a delegation contract under civil law and is not considered an employment contract.

What conditions must a celebrity meet to be recognized as an employee?

Attorney Choi Hyeon-deok of Daeryun Law Firm explained, “You must be in an employment relationship where you are subordinate to your agency and receive unilateral instructions, command, and supervision.”

He went on to explain, "When an entertainer is active, several conditions must be met, such as when he or she does not have independent decision-making authority and is required to follow the unilateral instructions (defined tasks) of the agency, and when he or she receives specific and direct command and supervision during the work process."

However, since most of the exclusive contracts for celebrities are based on delegation contracts and are atypical contracts that mix employment contracts and subcontract contracts, it is said that it will be difficult for celebrities to be recognized as pure workers who are completely subordinate to the management company.

As a result, some point out that there is a need to improve the labor rights of idols, who are in a blind spot.

Workplace Gapjil 119 said that since idols are young and have a subordinate relationship with their agency, it is more appropriate to regard them as workers under the Labor Standards Act.

Attorney Choi also said that there is still a lack of a legal system that can clarify the nature of celebrity exclusive contracts, and suggested that there should be legislation that takes into account the special characteristics of celebrities.

How are celebrities classified overseas?

In the US and UK, celebrities are generally not considered workers. In the United States, people are classified as ‘independent contractors’ and must pay their own income and social security taxes, and often do not receive welfare benefits provided by their employers. In the UK, celebrities are mainly classified as ‘self-employed’. They contract to participate in plays, broadcasts, films, etc., but perform the work freely rather than receiving direct instructions from their employer.

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