i-dle’s Yuqi and DAY6’s Young K have been promoted to full membership of the Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) for 2026, as announced on January 29. This promotion recognizes creators who have shown strong musical achievements and high copyright royalty performance.
KOMCA is the organization in South Korea that manages music copyrights and royalty distribution for composers and lyricists. Creators usually begin as associate members. Full membership is granted after comprehensively reviewing how long a creator has been registered and how well their works have performed in terms of copyright royalties.
KOMCA reviews its members every year and announces a new list of full members at the beginning of each year. Creators from all genres are considered, including popular music, children’s songs, religious music, and classical music. Being promoted to full membership is seen as a major milestone for songwriters.
Young K, whose real name is Kang Younghyun, becomes the first member of DAY6 to reach full membership status. He has written and composed many of the band’s representative songs. These include tracks such as “You Were Beautiful,” “Time of Our Life,” and “Welcome to the Show.” DAY6 is widely known for its self-produced music, and this promotion recognizes Young K’s creative achievements.
Yuqi, whose real name is Song Yuqi, also earned full membership. She becomes the second member of i-dle (previously (G)I-DLE) to achieve this honor, following Jeon Soyeon, who was promoted in 2024. Yuqi has actively participated in writing and composing many of the group’s songs, including “Last Forever,” “Neverland,” and “All Night.”
Singer-songwriter Stella Jang, whose Korean name is Jang Sung-eun, was also promoted this year. She is known for her unique musical style and French-inspired sensibility. She has released popular songs such as “Colors,” “Villain,” and “L’amour, les baguettes, Paris.” She has also contributed to works by other artists, including BTS’s “Friends” and TXT’s “Dreamer.”
The 72-year-old Veteran musician Bae Chul Soo was included in the 2026 promotion list as well. He is an iconic figure in Korean popular music and played an important role in popularizing Korean rock music. He is a member of the band Songolmae and has participated in writing and composing famous songs such as “Rainwater” and “Gather.”
The list also includes hit-making Songwriters: GIGI (NewJeans’ “Hype Boy,” “OMG”), Han Won Tak, KAKO, JUNNY, and MILLENNIUM, who have worked with top acts like SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, and NCT DREAM.
In addition, mid-level writers who have been active for over ten years were promoted. ASTROZ (Son Youngjin) received the promotion after creating hit songs such as IZ*ONE’s “Fantasy Fairy Tale,” HyunA’s “Lip & Hip,” and BTOB’s “It’s Okay.”
Big Sancho (Kim Tae Ho), helped define the sound of i-dle with songs like “LATATA,” “LION,” and “Oh My God.” Kang Hwa Seong was also promoted and is known for arranging songs such as Naul’s “Memory of the Wind,” HYNN’s “Like Watering a Withered Flower,” and Roy Kim’s “Only Then.”
Creators from non-pop music fields were included as well. Children’s song writer Oh Nam Hoon, religious music writer Lee Hyuk Jin, and classical music writer Kim Eun Soo were all promoted.
KOMCA also confirmed that some former full members were re-promoted according to association rules. These include Jang Beom Jun, Kwon Jung Yeol, and Sunwoo Jung A.
In the 2025 promotion cycle, SEVENTEEN’s leader S.Coups was promoted to full membership. He became the group’s third full member after Woozi, who was promoted in 2019, and Vernon, who was promoted in 2024. Other notable full members promoted in 2025 included singer-songwriters Younha and Lee Mujin, as well as producer Tukutz of Epik High.
