Novelist Lee Giho Urges Reform of the National Academy of Arts of Korea

"Culture and Arts Budget Concentrated on the Top 1%"

"I request an amendment to the items for allowances and pensions paid to members of the National Academy of Arts of the Republic of Korea as stipulated by Presidential Decree (Article 7 of the National Academy of Arts Act)." Novelist Lee Gi-ho urged reform of the National Academy of Arts through a petition on the Blue House's public petition site and a short story. This criticism aims to support younger artists instead of the cultural elders, who are mainly former university professors.

On the 18th, Lee posted a petition on the Blue House website's public petition board, claiming that the selection of new members and budget utilization of the Academy are unfair. The Academy, established in 1954 based on the National Academy of Arts Act, is a government-affiliated special institution. It elects veteran artists who have made achievements in various fields of the arts and pays them a monthly allowance of 1.8 million KRW for life. Currently, there are eighty-eight members.

Lee pointed out, "In a situation where the cultural arts budget is extremely insufficient, more than 3.2 billion KRW is invested annually in the Academy, most of which is used for fixed allowances," and criticized, "The top 1% receive a concentrated share of the cultural arts budget." He emphasized, "In countries like Germany, France, and the United States, the government does not provide fixed allowances to Academy members," and added, "A comprehensive reform of the Academy is necessary to ensure effective distribution of the cultural arts budget, strong support for emerging artists, and improvement of the irrationalities and contradictions in the arts sector."

He made the same argument in the short story "Report to the Academy," published in the July-August issue of the bimonthly literary magazine Akst. Using the format of a report, he examined the history of the Academy and pointed out issues with the member selection process, treatment, and the closed decision-making structure. Lee stated, "The Academy's budget this year is 3.265 billion KRW," and expressed surprise that "such a special privileged institution still exists in the Republic of Korea." He announced, "I plan to launch a campaign to amend the National Academy of Arts Act," and said, "I have sent an email to the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Hwang Hee) and will also hold a one-person protest."