'Sejong Doseo Project' Amid Controversy... Resumes on the 26th After Restructuring Process

The 'Sejong Book Selection and Purchase Support Project' by the Korea Publication Culture Industry Promotion Agency, which had been temporarily suspended due to poor management, will begin accepting applications this year. The Korea Publication Culture Industry Promotion Agency announced that it will start accepting applications for the '2023 Sejong Book Academic and General Knowledge Support Project' from the 26th of this month.

Eligible applicants are books published between May 1 of last year and May 31 of this year. Publishing companies wishing to participate in the project can apply through the 'Sejong Book Online System' from the 26th of this month until the 7th of next month.

Not directly related to the article content

There have been several changes to this year’s project. The project name has changed from 'Sejong Book Selection and Purchase Support Project' to 'Sejong Book Project.' The project method has shifted from 'review and selection' to 'recommendation.' This is interpreted as a preparatory step for future changes, as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism had previously expressed concerns about the method of supporting by purchasing completed books rather than during the book production process. From next year, support methods other than book purchases are expected.

The book selection procedure, which was criticized for lacking fairness, has also been revised. A scoring and evaluation sheet has been introduced, and the qualifications for recommendation committee members have been specified. A requirement for recommendation committee members to submit a qualification confirmation form has also been added.

The connection with the Integrated Publishing Distribution Network has been enhanced. The Publishing Promotion Agency linked the Integrated Publishing Distribution Network it operates with the Sejong Book Online System to improve convenience.

The scale has been slightly reduced. The budget decreased by 100 million KRW from 8.5 billion KRW to 8.4 billion KRW. This is interpreted as a measure due to the reduction of academic books from 400 titles to 390 titles. The support amount per title is approximately 8 million KRW.

The recommendation committee will be formed with about 280 members around the end of August. The results of the recommended book selection are expected to be announced in early November.

The Publishing Promotion Agency stated, "Since the project was significantly delayed, we will proceed as quickly, objectively, and fairly as possible."

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