[Asia Economy Reporter Jonggil Lee] The Korean Film Council has urged the National Assembly to improve unfairness in the film industry. On the 19th, the council members announced a "Request Regarding the Establishment of a System for Economic Democratization in the Film Industry," emphasizing that it should be promoted in the 21st National Assembly.
There are four main points. ▲ Institutionalization of dedicated theaters for independent and art films and preparation of financial support measures ▲ Introduction of a screen (screening times) cap system ▲ Resolution of unfairness caused by conglomerates' dual operations in distribution and screening ▲ Promotion of extension of the film development fund imposition period.
The Korean Film Council stated, "The Korean film industry faces serious unfairness in economic activities, to the extent that it is called a tilted playing field," and added, "We earnestly hope that new film policies for sustainable development will be established and that a desirable film ecosystem will be formed where the second and third Bong Joon-ho directors can emerge."
As a representative example of unfairness, they cited "Frozen 2," which was released last year and recorded a screening share of over 80%. The council emphasized, "The situation where three films accounted for 70% of daily screening times continued," and "This concentration of screening opportunities created a problematic situation where the top thirty films accounted for 73.5% of sales revenue."
They continued, "The reason why screening opportunities can be concentrated on one or two films is that three companies collectively own 97.2% of all screens," and criticized, "Although distributors are formally separate, in reality, market-dominant cinema companies also control film distribution."
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