1 Trillion Won Invested in Government Content Sector as "National New Growth Engine"

"Bold Investment to Foster as a National Strategic Industry"
630 Billion KRW Supplied through K-Content Fund
Sports Fund and Lottery Fund Transfers Invested in Films
Overseas Business Centers Expanded to Twenty-Five Locations

The government is investing over 1 trillion won in the content sector for the first time. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 27th that next year's budget has been confirmed at 1.002254 trillion won. This is an increase of 150.1 billion won (about 18%) compared to this year. Minister Yoon In-chon of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated, "While many sectors have seen budget cuts due to the economic downturn, the content sector's budget has actually increased," adding, "As a national new growth engine and a core export industry, we will boldly invest to nurture it as a national strategic industry."

The key focus is policy finance. By supplying 1.74 trillion won, the government aims to alleviate the industry's financial difficulties and promote K-content exports by fostering games, films, comics, and webtoons. The most emphasized project is the K-Content Fund (the mother fund cultural account) investment to secure intellectual property (IP) for small and medium-sized production companies and to activate exports. This fund will be expanded from 190 billion won this year to 270 billion won, supplying a total investment of 630 billion won. This represents a significant increase of 51.6% from 415.6 billion won this year.

Unlike the mother fund cultural account, a new K-Content Strategic Fund with no operational restrictions will also be established with an investment of 45 billion won. A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official explained, "We plan to create a fund worth 600 billion won through joint investment by the government and private companies to focus intensively on large-scale content production with global competitiveness."

The Ministry will also expand the scale of completion guarantee contributions, which support guarantees for content loans to be repaid after production (from 20 billion won to 25 billion won), and content secondary interest subsidy support, which covers part of the interest on corporate loans (from 4 billion won to 5 billion won). This is intended to reduce the financial burden on production companies and encourage them to focus on production.

Budgets for each sector have also increased compared to this year. The game sector is allocated 67.9 billion won. Distribution support projects that assist small and medium enterprises' overseas expansion will receive 13.3 billion won, planning support 5 billion won, and game commercialization production support 24.2 billion won. Additionally, 5.4 billion won will be spent on operating the Game Talent Center for nurturing talent.

On the 44th anniversary of the December 12 military coup, the film "Spring in Seoul," which is based on the December 12 military coup, is being screened at a movie theater in Seoul on the 12th. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

For the first time, the film sector will receive 30 billion won from the Sports Fund and 5.4 billion won from the Lottery Fund. This is due to the Film Development Fund facing depletion risks caused by decreased levy income. To revitalize the stagnant Korean film investment and production and support release promotion, the budget for video specialized investment association contributions will be transferred to the general account. This budget has increased by 17 billion won from this year to 25 billion won. The total budget gathered will be 73.7 billion won, an increase of 400 million won from this year. A Ministry official stated, "Support to expand film accessibility for persons with disabilities will be strengthened (from 1.87 billion won to 4.6 billion won), and a new youth film education program (900 million won) will be launched in collaboration with theaters."

The comics and webtoon budget has increased by 1 billion won to 25 billion won. For the first time, 2 billion won will be allocated for webtoon professional workforce training, 4 billion won for business localization support, and 600 million won for creative support. The animation budget is 44.5 billion won. A new project supporting animation production for the youth and adult age group (3 billion won) will be launched, and the Suncheon Animation Cluster (19.3 billion won) will be established to create youth jobs. A Ministry official added, "The animation production support budget for theatrical release from the film fund (2 billion won) will be transferred to the general account and carried out by the Korea Creative Content Agency."

The Ministry will also invest 5.4 billion won to support domestic singers' overseas expansion, planning to maximize the use of local infrastructure such as overseas showcases. Support will continue for operating online specialized performance venues (7.02 billion won) and developing online and offline music content (7.65 billion won). The fashion sector will be reorganized focusing on designer nurturing support. Support for overseas expansion of growing fashion designers will be expanded (from 4.1 billion won to 5.9 billion won), emphasizing systematic nurturing and overseas market expansion.

K-content export support is another notable area. The number of overseas business centers that comprehensively support content exports abroad will increase from fifteen to twenty-five. An overseas content company support center will be established in Tokyo, Japan (21.9 billion won) to support domestic companies' local corporation establishment and office space. Additionally, support for the co-growth of related industries utilizing the K-Expo and overseas promotional halls' K-content premium effect will be strengthened (from 16.5 billion won to 26.4 billion won), and the number of overseas local application and registration support targets will expand from 125 this year to 200.

On the 31st, citizens are touring booths at the international broadcasting video market 'BCWW (BroadCast WorldWide) 2022' held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul. Photo by Honam Moon munonam@

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will also accelerate the realization of 'Startup Korea.' Customized programs for each growth stage will be strengthened (from 10.1 billion won to 12 billion won) to help young people's dreams and ideas lead to startups and commercialization. Support for overseas corporate development institutions and expansion of overseas market participation (from 2.1 billion won to 3.3 billion won) will enhance international capabilities. A new program will be introduced for startups and large and medium-sized enterprises to collaborate and enter overseas markets together.

The scale of support projects for nurturing specialized convergent content talent will also expand. The immersive content technology and artificial intelligence (AI) new technology content convergence academy will be reinforced (from 5.7 billion won to 9.1 billion won) to cultivate talent based on advanced technology. Apprenticeship-style mentoring by creative experts (10.3 billion won) will be conducted to nurture about 300 young creative talents. Furthermore, existing infrastructure projects such as the Content Talent Campus and Content Korea Lab Corporate Support Center will be solidified (12.2 billion won), and a content experience center (3 billion won) will be established in the Yongsan Children's Garden to create a content experience space enjoyed by all generations.

A new investment of 2 billion won will be made for R&D in cultural technology (CT) startups aiming for overseas expansion. To ensure safe performances and viewing, 2.3 billion won will be invested in developing technology to eliminate safety vulnerabilities in cultural spaces and performance venues and to build related infrastructure, supporting safe enjoyment of culture and arts. Additionally, 3.6 billion won will be newly allocated to nurture international cultural and technological convergent talent for digital transformation in the CT field.

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