[뉴스포터 신혜리 소송] 라파엘 라시드의 저작권 침해에 대한 의견서

존경하는 재판부 귀하,

I am Raphael Rashid, a British freelance journalist who has lived and worked in Korea for over 14 years, contributing regularly to The Guardian, The New York Times, Nikkei Asia, Al Jazeera, and other international outlets.

I write this letter to provide context on the importance of copyright protection for independent media professionals and my observations of systematic copyright practices within Korean media.

Unlike staff journalists who receive regular salaries and benefits, freelance journalists depend entirely on individual assignments and licensing fees. We have no guaranteed income, no sick pay, and no pension contributions from employers. Our written work, photographs, and other creative output represent our only tangible assets. Copyright protection is not merely a legal technicality for freelancers; it is the foundation of our economic survival.

When media, whether traditional outlets or monetised digital platforms such as YouTube or magazines behind paywalls, use our work without permission or compensation, they are directly undermining our ability to earn a living.

In 2019, I experienced firsthand how Korean media approaches copyright. Channel A used several of my photographs in their current affairs programme without permission or attribution (Appendix A).

When I discovered the unauthorised use, I invoiced Channel A for 100 won (Appendix B). This was not about the money, but about establishing the principle that permission must be sought before using a journalist’s work, regardless of where it was originally published.

Channel A acknowledged the oversight, apologised for using my work without prior consent and for inadequate source attribution, and agreed to pay the symbolic fee (Appendix C).

However, the fact that such basic permission protocols were not in place initially reflects a broader pattern I have observed within Korean media: that content found online, particularly from foreign sources, is often assumed to be freely available for commercial use without explicit consent or basic professional courtesy of asking.

The importance of proper copyright procedures became even clearer during my recent work with MBC. Earlier in 2025, I participated as the protagonist in a documentary called <라파엘 리포트 : 윤석열은 왜?> examining President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration. When the production needed to feature my Guardian articles as on-screen graphics (Appendix D), MBC obtained formal licensing agreements from Guardian News & Media to feature these on screen (Appendix E).

Over 14 years covering Korean affairs, I have observed consistent patterns in how Korean media outlets approach foreign copyright material. Outlets frequently cite “social media screenshot” or “from an online community” as source attribution, regardless of the content’s actual origin, which obscures the original creator and suggests the material is public domain. There appears to be an assumption that foreign journalists’ work is more freely available than domestic content.

These practices extend beyond photographs to complete articles. International outlets frequently find their content translated and republished on Korean platforms without permission.

In one instance I discovered personally, an opinion piece I wrote for The Guardian (Appendix G) had been translated in its entirety and published behind a paywall on a monetised platform (Appendix F). A side-by-side comparison demonstrates the verbatim nature of this reproduction (Appendix H). This represents direct commercial exploitation of copyrighted content, demonstrating that the systematic disregard for international copyright extends across all forms of media content.

When outlets can freely use creative work without permission, it makes freelance journalism economically unsustainable and creates unfair competition between those who pay licensing fees and those who simply take what they need.

Copyright protection serves a vital function in supporting independent journalism. Asking permission, providing proper attribution, and paying licensing fees when appropriate are not unreasonable burdens but basic professional standards that exist in every developed media market.

For freelance journalists like myself and Mr Jun Michael Park, copyright protection is about ensuring that those who create original content can continue to do so professionally and sustainably in an environment where their intellectual property rights are respected.