[Featured Stock] VT GMP Rises on News of Real-Time Korea-China Online Streaming Concert

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] VT GMP is showing strength on news that its affiliate KVLY is partnering with China's largest event planning company Freegos to hold a real-time Korea-China online streaming concert.

As of 9:12 AM on the 26th, VT GMP was trading at 9,100 KRW, up 8.98% (750 KRW) compared to the previous trading day.

VT GMP's subsidiary KVLY and Freegos International Entertainment Group, China's largest event planning company, have formed a joint venture called 'Freegos & KVLY' and decided to hold a concert on the 30th of next month with the purpose of overcoming the global COVID-19 crisis together. The concert will feature top Hallyu stars and artists from the Chinese-speaking regions. It will be held simultaneously at studios in Seoul, Shenzhen, and Macau (planned), and will be broadcast live worldwide via online platforms such as YouTube.

Since all proceeds from the concert will be fully donated to COVID-19 relief funds and the main theme is overcoming the COVID-19 crisis, the concert will be conducted thoroughly 'untact' without an audience and streamed live across China via online platforms. Notably, this concert will be the first time the Chinese government, which has strictly enforced quota systems on Korean broadcast content since the THAAD incident, opens its entire online network for such an event.

Namsoo Lee, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, stated, "The entertainment and content industry has struggled to open new markets due to restrictions on entering China following the THAAD incident. This concert, sponsored by a Chinese government-affiliated institution, is the first K-Content event to be broadcast live across China since the THAAD incident, marking a turning point from a closed China to an open China."

He added, "As this is the beginning of cultural cooperation and exchange with China, more attention should be paid to the company's expansion potential in China. Although all proceeds from this concert will be donated and are not expected to affect financial performance, the concert's purpose and the lifting of the Korean content ban after THAAD will enhance the company's image, resulting in an immeasurable marketing effect."