On July 20, the Constitutional Court delivered a landmark ruling on the ‘book price system,’ a mechanism designed to safeguard cultural products by imposing limits on the extent of discounts applied to book prices. This legal decision marks the first time the law has affirmed that the book price system does not violate the Constitution.
The Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed a petition for a constitutional appeal trial filed against Article 22, paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Publishing Culture Industry Promotion Act, which stipulates the book price system. These clauses impose an obligation to sell publications at regular prices and limit the discount rate to up to 15%. Under these clauses, prices cannot be discounted by more than 10%, and economic benefits, such as point accumulation cannot exceed 5%.
However, there have been dissenting voices critiquing the book price system. It was pointed out that the book price system limiting discounts infringes on consumer rights, freedom, and the right to pursue happiness in the publishing industry, shrinking the book market. Some pointed out that it is challenging to operate local bookstores because used bookstores benefit much more than local bookstores.
In response to these opinions, the Constitutional Court said that the legislative purpose of the book price system is justified, including protecting authors and publishers while preventing publication disruption due to price competition and expanding consumer access to reading.
They also added that without a monopoly prevention system such as the book price system, the phenomenon affected by Internet development would have accelerated further.
