K-Content Fund Increased by 100 Billion Won, Focused on IP Acquisition and Export Promotion

Ministry of Culture Holds 'K-Content Fund' Meeting on 13th
Industry Proposes Secondary Funds, M&A Funds, etc.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Venture Investment Corp. held a meeting on the 13th to discuss effective fund management directions for the 'K-Content Fund (Mother Fund Culture Account)'. The K-Content Fund is capital that supports the activation of investment and growth of promising small and venture companies in the content sector through contributions to the mother fund. So far, 5,168 content projects have received a total of 3.1967 trillion KRW in funding. Among the invested companies, 52.1% were established less than three years ago, contributing to the discovery of promising early-stage content companies.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has allocated a budget of 290 billion KRW for the K-Content Fund next year, which is 100 billion KRW (52.6%) more than this year. An official stated, "Many production companies are facing difficulties in securing funds due to rising content production costs," adding, "We hope to support smooth fund supply so that producers can fully demonstrate their creativity and spirit of challenge."

The attendees reviewed past achievements and limitations and sought effective management directions. In particular, they focused on detailed formation directions of sub-funds to ensure investment funds are supplied appropriately. There was also considerable discussion on the necessity of establishing a 'Content Intellectual Property (IP) Fund.' This fund, currently being formed this year, is expected to be raised at 175 billion KRW, which is 25 billion KRW more than the initial target. The industry requested continuous formation to support domestic content producers in securing original IP.

There were also demands for establishing funds specialized in export content. Despite the global economic downturn, the content industry recorded approximately 13.3 billion USD in export revenue last year. To maintain this smooth trend, focused nurturing is necessary. A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official said, "Since interest in K-Content is higher than ever, we plan to actively review this."

Additionally, the industry proposed various sub-funds such as secondary funds that induce activation of the recovery market through acquisition of already issued stocks, and merger & acquisition (M&A) funds. Yoon Yang-su, Director of the Content Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, promised, "We will establish the K-Content Fund operation plan for next year reflecting voices from the field," and added, "We will promptly proceed with follow-up procedures such as budget approval and announcement of contribution projects to resolve difficulties faced by producers."

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