KT Koo Hyun-mo Administration Launches Studio Geni: "Securing 1000 IPs Within 2 Years"

Control Tower Leading DigiCo Transition
KT Studio Genie Blueprint Unveiled
Coexistence with Small Producers Amid OTT Offensive
Becoming a 'Meta-Platform' Beyond Platforms

Koo Hyun-mo, CEO of KT

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] "Media is the most powerful growth engine of KT, a digital platform company (Digico)." (Koo Hyun-mo, CEO of KT)

The blueprint of KT Studiogenie, the control tower leading KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo's core strategy of 'Digico transformation,' has been unveiled. Centered on KT Studiogenie, which leads the organic connection of content platforms within the KT Group, the short-term goal is to hold more than 1,000 original intellectual properties (IPs) within two years. It will also build a K-content production ecosystem by coexisting with small production companies marginalized amid the global online video service (OTT) offensive.

◆ Building a Large Library = KT Studiogenie announced at a press briefing on the morning of the 23rd that it plans to build a content library with more than 1,000 original IPs and over 100 drama IPs by the end of 2023. The first work, already in preparation, is scheduled to be released in the third quarter of this year.

Under the leadership of KT Studiogenie, nine content affiliates will join forces to create a 'metaplatform' beyond just a platform. The first step is Storywiz, a subsidiary specializing in webtoon and web novel IPs, which will discover original IPs. KT Storywiz will then utilize these to produce video content such as dramas, movies, and entertainment shows. The primary and secondary rights will be distributed through real-time channels like skyTV, Olleh TV, and Skylife. Subsequently, domestic and international secondary rights distribution will be carried out through OTT platforms such as KTH and Seezn. Genie Music will focus on creating added value.

From the left, KT Studio Genie Co-CEOs Yoon Yongpil and Kim Chulyeon

In response to the penetration of foreign capital into domestic content, domestic capital will also be actively attracted. An IP fund will be established, investing over 10 billion KRW to accelerate the acquisition and development of original IPs by Storywiz. About 30 original content titles will be produced, including tentpole (major blockbuster) dramas, which are a core competitive strength.

A virtuous cycle system of content success and reinvestment with domestic creators will also be established. The 'With KT' ecosystem pursued by KT Studiogenie centers on 'connection' as a core value and is a content cooperation structure based on openness, sharing, and nurturing. It is promoting an open cooperative structure with about 10 successful production companies and about 10 small and medium-sized production companies.

◆ National Enterprise KT, Coexisting with the Korean Production Ecosystem = KT's focus on the development and coexistence of the Korean creative ecosystem stems from its responsibility as a 'national enterprise.' It means contributing to the stability of Korea's production ecosystem based on KT's platform competitiveness and big data from 13 million customers. CEO Koo Hyun-mo also emphasized upon his inauguration in March last year, "I will make KT the national enterprise that the people need the most."

The market expresses concerns about the increasing penetration of large foreign capital, such as from China, in the uncertain content market. Representative examples include indirect advertising (PPL) controversies, such as scenes of high school students eating hot pot meals or Chinese-style bibimbap labeled in Chinese characters at convenience stores in Korea. The position of small and medium-sized production companies, which find it difficult to contact large foreign OTT companies, has become narrower.

KT Studiogenie also shares the success profits from content hits with producers to build a virtuous ecosystem. Kim Cheol-yeon, co-CEO of KT Studiogenie, emphasized, "KT is a company that provides an environment where producers can focus solely on creation in the content industry, where success is hard to predict, and can operate content business more stably than anyone else."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.