Guides
Music publishing in South Korea
How music publishing actually works in South Korea: who claims which rights, what the national copyright system does, and what it takes for a publisher to set up and collect.
Who claims which rights
Performance and mechanical: KOMCA for most repertoire, KOSCAP for its members' works. Sync: direct, customarily via the local publisher.
Copyright registration in South Korea
Copyright is automatic; the Korea Copyright Commission operates a voluntary registration system that strengthens evidence and is used for transfers.
Setting up to claim publishing rights
Foreign writers and publishers do not join KOMCA directly — repertoire flows in through reciprocal agreements between societies, or through a Korean sub-publisher who is a KOMCA member. For active exploitation in Korea (K-pop co-writes especially), a Korean sub-publisher or local entity that can hold KOMCA membership is the working answer; passive income from Korean use of your works arrives via your home society's reciprocal agreement.
The societies
KOMCA · KOSCAP — each linked page covers the society’s history and how registrations reach it.
Check a CWR file free — errors and warnings tied to the exact line, nothing stored: cwrcheck.com.