"Why Invest in Netflix?" Democratic Party Lawmaker Misunderstands and Criticizes Yoon

Assembly Member Yang Iwonyoung, SNS Post Deletion Incident
Misunderstanding of 'Netflix's Investment in Korea'

Regarding President Yoon Suk-yeol's announcement that he secured domestic investments worth trillions of won by meeting with the Netflix CEO, Rep. Yang Yi-won of the Democratic Party of Korea posted a critical comment but later deleted it on the 25th. The incident occurred due to a misunderstanding between 'Netflix's domestic investment' and '(Korea's) Netflix investment.'

On the 25th, Rep. Yang wrote on her Facebook, "There is news that President Yoon has agreed to invest about 3.3 trillion won in Netflix," adding, "With domestic conglomerates investing overseas in the U.S., Europe, and other countries due to the enactment of nationalist laws, is this the time to invest abroad?"

Yang Yi-won-young, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea [Image source=Yonhap News]

She continued, "If this is not President Yoon's personal investment, is it the National Pension Service or other pension funds? Shouldn't the board of directors rigorously review and approve overseas investments?" She also criticized, "The domestic content industry is enjoying a Korean Wave overseas, yet the president is promoting investment in foreign OTT companies. I am worried this might lead to thoughtless giveaways."

However, shortly after posting, Rep. Yang deleted the post. She later reposted, correcting herself by stating, "Netflix said it will invest 3.3 trillion won in our country's content market over four years. I misunderstood earlier but have now confirmed."

She added, "Netflix already decided to invest 800 billion won in our content market last year alone. Over four years, that roughly amounts to 3.3 trillion won," and questioned, "Wasn't President Yoon just taking photos with Netflix regarding an already decided investment?"

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is visiting the United States as a state guest, is making a joint announcement after meeting with Ted Sarandos, Co-CEO of Netflix, on the 24th (local time).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

In response, voices from the ruling party called for an apology.

Jang Ye-chan, the Youth Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, wrote on Facebook that day, "Rep. Yang posted without verifying basic facts, driven by a malicious intent to criticize unconditionally," and added, "It seems Democratic Party politicians are hoping for no achievements from the Korea-U.S. summit and the state visit to the U.S."

He further stated, "An official apology and a correction post should be issued."

Meanwhile, President Yoon and Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos met around 4 p.m. the previous day at Blair House in Washington D.C., and announced the investment plan through a joint press release.

In the announcement, President Yoon emphasized, "Netflix, led by CEO Sarandos, has expressed its intention to invest 2.5 billion dollars, approximately 3.3 trillion won, in K-content over the next four years," adding, "This investment will be a great opportunity for Korea's content industry, creators, and Netflix alike."

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