In South Korea, venues listed in the Copyright Act Enforcement Decree pay a public performance royalty to the authors' societies and a compensation to performers and producers, usually on one bill.
| Who | What for | |
|---|---|---|
| KOMCA | Korea Music Copyright Association | Authors and publishers; unified collector for venues |
| KOSCAP | Korea Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers | Authors and publishers |
| FKMP | Federation of Korean Music Performers | Performers' compensation for commercial phonograms |
| KMCA | Korea Music Content Association | Producers' compensation; designated in February 2026 per press reports |
Article 29(2) of the Copyright Act lets a business play commercial phonograms for free if it charges no admission, except in the venues listed in Article 11 of the Enforcement Decree: cafés and non alcoholic drink shops, beer and other bars, karaoke and entertainment bars, fitness centres and other specified sports facilities, hotels, condominiums, casinos, theme parks, large stores, and passenger planes, ships and trains. Ordinary restaurants and small shops are not listed.
Listed venues pay the authors' public performance royalty to KOMCA or KOSCAP and the performers' and producers' compensation to the designated bodies. Under Article 106 the Ministry of Culture can order unified collection, so KOMCA, or a designated store music service, bills both together.
The Ministry approved tariff of 26 March 2018 sets a monthly flat amount by venue type and licensed floor area in six bands. Venues under 50 m2 are exempt, and rural eup and myeon areas pay one band lower.
2018 example: a coffee shop of 50 to 100 m2 pays KRW 4,000 a month in total, KRW 2,000 for authors plus the performers' and producers' compensation; cafés and bars range up to KRW 20,000 a month in total for 1,000 m2 or more. These are the 2018 approved figures; current 2026 amounts were not verified for this guide.
Consumer plans of Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube are licensed for personal, noncommercial use under their own terms, so a private account is not a license to play music to customers. In January 2025 the Supreme Court held, in KOMCA v Lotte GRS, that music files streamed to a store by a music service are not records for sale, so the free performance exemption did not apply to them, per press reports of the ruling.
KOMCA and KOSCAP are trust management bodies and can license only works they manage; the Act has no extended collective licensing and no presumption that they represent non members. A work directly licensed by an author who is not a member owes them no fee.
The performers' and producers' compensation for public performance with commercial phonograms, set out in the articles that follow Articles 76 and 83, can be exercised only through a body designated by the Ministry, and the body must accept non members who apply. Whether a venue owes this compensation for a directly licensed recording, for example when the rights holder waives it, is not settled in the text, and no burden of proof rule was found.
Enforcement is through civil claims. The Supreme Court ruled for KOMCA against Hi Mart, and in 2025 overturned lower court losses in its cases against Lotte GRS and others. For registered works, statutory damages reach KRW 10 million per work, or KRW 50 million for willful commercial infringement.
Dr.DIO Studio makes its own electronic and ambient music, no Dr.DIO track is registered with any collecting society, and the Business plan ($14.99 a month per venue, 14 days free) gives the venue a direct public playback license and a certificate for Dr.DIO music.
Dr.DIO works are not managed by KOMCA or KOSCAP, so the authors' royalty should not apply to them. Venues not listed in the decree, such as ordinary restaurants, and venues under 50 m2 do not pay the tariff in any case.
For listed venues, the performers' and producers' compensation runs only through designated bodies, and whether it applies to directly licensed recordings such as Dr.DIO is unclear. Because the bill is unified, show the Dr.DIO certificate and track list and ask KOMCA in writing before you rely on paying nothing.
Any other music in the venue, such as radio, TV, live music or other playlists, still needs the usual licenses.
This page explains the general rules as published by the societies and laws listed above, checked in October 2026. It is not legal advice; fees and rules change, so confirm with the society before you decide.
Yes if it is 50 m2 or more and plays protected music: cafés are listed in the Enforcement Decree, and KOMCA bills authors and performers together.
Under the 2018 tariff, a café of 50 to 100 m2 pays KRW 4,000 a month in total. Current amounts were not verified.
Ordinary restaurants are not in the decree list, so commercial phonograms played without admission are free there; cafés and bars are listed.
Yes, the approved tariff exempts venues under 50 m2.
No. Personal plans are for personal use, and the Supreme Court held that streamed store music is not covered by the free exemption.
No for the authors' royalty. Whether the performers' and producers' compensation applies to directly licensed recordings is unclear.
