On the afternoon of June 28 (local time), YU In Chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), met with Fran Drescher, President of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), and other officials at their national office in Los Angeles, USA. During the meeting, Minister YU gained insights into the US video industry’s response to the evolving digital landscape.

The SAG-AFTRA, an American labor union formed in March 2012 through the merger of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), represents around 160,000 media professionals globally, including movie and television actors, voice actors, announcers, and dancers. On behalf of its members, SAG-AFTRA has conducted collective bargaining with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), an employer organization, regarding compensation, welfare benefits, and residual pay. In addition, since 1995, the SAG-AFTRA has hosted the Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG Awards), honoring achievements in 15 categories spanning both film and television genres.

In July last year, the SAG-AFTRA went on strike alongside the Writers Guild of America, marking the first simultaneous strike by Hollywood writers and actors in 63 years. The strike aimed to secure better treatment in response to changes in the digital and artificial intelligence (AI) environments. It concluded on November 9, after approximately 118 days, when SAG-AFTRA reached an agreement with the AMPTP. Through past strikes and negotiations, SAG-AFTRA has secured significant advancements for actors. These include raising minimum wages (7% in 2023, 4% in 2024, etc.), increasing residual payments, establishing a Success Bonus for real-time playback (streaming) bonuses and compensation (with 75% going to actors and 25% to a fund managed by SAG and the AMPTP for distribution and streaming bonuses), providing viewing statistics (total playtime for online video service content each quarter), and establishing guidelines for the use of AI (requiring consent from the actor’s digital replica or portrait rights holder and ensuring compensation for use).

Listened SAG’s efforts to establish virtuous cycle in video industry

After receiving an explanation of the US case, which illustrates a virtuous cycle in the video industry through residual payments, Minister YU highlighted a similar practice in Korea, where actors, performers appearing on TV, and TV writers receive a rebroadcasting fee comparable to residual payments when their work is rebroadcast or authorized for use on other platforms.

President Fran Drescher said, “Our union is committed to ensuring that actors and broadcasters can work freely in the film, television, and entertainment industries.” She further explained, “Through this negotiation, we have overhauled the compensation system established in the 1960s to ensure that actors receive appropriate compensation for new platforms, over-the-top (OTT) media services, resulting in a historic agreement.”

Last May, the MCST launched the Video Compensation Coexistence Council, focusing on the film industry and including participation from creators, production companies, and platforms. The aim is to support the development of a fair compensation plan for stakeholders in the video industry, addressing both the film and broadcasting sectors.

Respond against the violation of publicity when using AI technology in video

While the advancement of AI technology has significantly benefited the video industry by reducing work time and costs, it has also brought forth new challenges, such as AI learning to utilize actors’ appearances and voices without their consent. Korea also faces both the potential benefits and concerns associated with AI technology. Alongside the anticipation of its utilization, issues such as copyright and publicity rights violations have emerged, exemplified by the popularity of cover songs created by AI that mimic the voices of various singers and actors.

 An official from SAG-AFTRA remarked, “The union went on strike last year because of concerns over the indiscriminate use of digital replicas created with generative artificial intelligence. As a result of the strike, we have introduced guidelines requiring production companies to obtain consent from actors when using their digital replicas and to compensate these digital replicas based on what the actual actors would have received if they had performed.”

In response, Minister YU said, “This agreement between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP is significant as it sets a leading model for addressing publicity rights in the era of artificial intelligence and digital transformation. Korea is also grappling with the same issue, making this agreement highly relevant.”

Recently, the MCST revised the Standard Contract for Popular Culture and Artists to clarify the attribution of publicity rights in contracts and is exploring the necessity of legislation on publicity rights from different viewpoints.

In addition, the two sides delved into various other topics beyond the allotted time, such as setting compensation guidelines for actors’ self-introduction videos (self-tapes) submitted during auditions for production companies and providing viewing statistics for OTT services.