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Song Soon-ki, a veteran trumpeter, orchestra leader and former chairman of the Federation of Korean Copyright Organizations, died on the 17th after a long illness. He was 79.
A memorial was established at Eunpyeong St. Mary’s Funeral Hall in Seoul. The funeral procession is scheduled for 9 a.m. on the 19th.
From Military Band to the Seoul Olympics
Born in Seoul in 1947, Song began his musical career playing trumpet in the South Korean Marine Corps band. In 1975, he joined Trippers, an eight-member orchestral rock group also known as Kim Hoon and the Vagabonds, and performed with the act into the early 1980s. His trumpet can be heard in the opening of the group’s signature song, “Jeong Jugo Naega Une,” as well as on other recordings.
Song later performed with the MBC television orchestra and served as an administrator for the Seoul Studio recording orchestra. He also formed the Song Soon-ki Orchestra, a full band that ranged from 12 to 20 musicians depending on the production. The ensemble accompanied prominent Korean singers including Nam Jin, Song Dae-kwan, Joo Hyun-mi, Jo Hang-jo and Kim Yong-im.
His major public assignments included serving as music director for a concert marking North and South Korea’s simultaneous admission to the United Nations. He contributed to the music for the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul and conducted music for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Advocating for Performers’ Rights
Song became a leading advocate for the rights of session musicians and other performers whose work was often heard but not credited. Older Korean records frequently listed singers, lyricists and composers while omitting the musicians who played on the tracks. Without reliable credits, performers could not always be identified, leaving payments owed under neighboring rights — protections for performers and recordings distinct from songwriting copyright — undistributed.
Song served as a director of the Federation of Korean Music Performers, became president of the Korea Recording Musicians Association in 2005 and, in 2008, became the first career musician to lead the performers’ federation. He also headed the Federation of Korean Copyright Organizations.
Across those roles, he worked to restore compensation for uncredited performers, expand neighboring rights and improve royalty systems. He received South Korea’s Okgwan Order of Cultural Merit in 2009 for his contributions to popular music.
Improving Music-Use Reporting
Under Song’s leadership, the performers’ federation joined a 2012 agreement among the government, music rights organizations and online music companies to improve reporting of digital music use. The agreement changed reporting from monthly to daily and directed companies to submit data through the Korea Copyright Commission’s digital copyright exchange rather than separately to each rights group.
In 2018, South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism appointed Song to a two-year term as a nonexecutive director of the Korea Copyright Protection Agency.
Song began treatment for his illness about three years ago after a performance by Nam Jin, bringing the Song Soon-ki Orchestra’s activities to an end. Music critic Park Sung-seo remembered him as an accomplished trumpeter and steadfast leader who devoted himself to both live popular music and the rights of those who sing and perform it.
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