Culture minister Yu In-chon (2nd from L) speaks during a press briefing in Seoul on Nov. 14, 2023, to announce his ministry’s plan to develop the Korean video content industry. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — The government on Tuesday unveiled an ambitious plan to expand the size of the country’s video content industry to 40 trillion won (US$30.24 billion) by 2027.
The government also plans to create a fund worth 1 trillion won by 2028 to help the industry produce globally competitive content, like the hit Netflix series “Squid Game.”
These plans were announced by Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In-chon as part of his ministry’s efforts to enhance the global competitiveness of the domestic video content industry and transform it into a global powerhouse by 2027.
Under the blueprint, the culture ministry unveiled a goal of increasing the size of the industry to 40 trillion won and the industry’s exports to $1.8 billion by the target year. They mark an annual average increase of 6.1 percent and 11.9 percent, respectively, from the 2021 figures.
The ministry also aims to create at least five global hits that are recognized by major international industry awards, such as the Emmys and Oscars, within the next five years.
For this, the ministry will establish a new civilian-government fund worth a total of 1 trillion won between 2024 and 2028 to invest in the creation of so-called “killer content” and intellectual property (IP) with high potential for global success.
This fund will complement the government’s existing venture capital fund for small- and medium-sized content creators, which has limitations in funding for big-budget films and TV series.
The government will also consider providing income tax deductions for subscription fees for streaming services in recognition of the widespread use of the services in the country.
The announcement comes amid the rapid growth of global streaming services led by Netflix in recent years.
The growth has propelled Korean content, like “Squid Game,” into the international spotlight in recent years.
But it has also brought some unintended consequences, including the global streamers’ monopoly of content rights to the shows they invest in, and financial strain on domestic streaming platforms and TV broadcasters as well as the local film industry.
To address the issue of streaming services’ dominance in their shows’ IP, the government plans to introduce measures to encourage domestic content producers to retain and utilize their IP rights rather than making the safe choice of transferring their rights in exchange for full production cost coverage.
It will also create a special fund to invest in projects only if the production companies retain their IP rights.
To bolster copyright protection, the government will collaborate with foreign investigative agencies to crack down on illicit online distributors of Korean content and impose stricter penalties on violators.
This marked Yu’s first announcement of the ministry’s policies since he took office last month.
“We prepared this plan to help the video content industry overcome the crisis and respond to change. As video content is a core pillar of the country’s content industry, we will vigorously promote the plan to achieve concrete results,” Yu said during a press briefing in Seoul to announce the plan.
“We will actively communicate with various players in the industry and will not leave the current crisis situation as it is,” he stressed.
(Yonhap)
