Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Establishes Cultural Industry Fund Worth 240.1 Billion Won

'Venture Investment Fund' Raises Record 200.1 Billion Won
Encouraging Acquisition of IP from Small and Medium Production Companies through 'Drama Fund'

On the 17th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that it will establish a cultural industry fund worth 240.1 billion won this year, similar to last year's amount of 240 billion won. It is expected to exceed the 450 billion won target for the 'venture investment fund' set in the 2019 'Three Major Innovation Strategies for the Content Industry.'

This year, the Ministry will invest 164.1 billion won through the mother fund's cultural account. The size of the 'venture investment fund' will be a record high of 200.1 billion won, an increase of more than 17% compared to last year's 170.8 billion won. The fund will be used to resolve the financial difficulties of content companies. An official explained, "We will invest more than 60% of the total committed amount in projects or related companies in the early production and investment-neglected sectors to promote overall growth in the content field."

The remaining 40 billion won will be allocated to the 'drama fund.' It was established to enhance the bargaining power of domestic production companies and reduce dependence on overseas online video service (OTT) capital. The plan is to invest in drama projects where production companies solely own intellectual property (IP) or jointly own IP with broadcasters or OTT operators, helping small and medium-sized production companies secure IP. An official said, "This is the foundation for the domestic drama industry, which possesses global competitiveness, to continue growing as a core business of the new Korean Wave."

Proposals will be accepted by Korea Venture Investment until the 11th of next month. Actual investments will proceed after July following the selection of fund managers. For more details, please refer to the Korea Venture Investment website.