Please share this month's visit schedule to Korea... Detailed itinerary under discussion
Ted Sarandos, Co-CEO of Netflix, who is scheduled to visit South Korea this month, is reported to have recently sent a letter to President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee.
President Yoon Suk-yeol, who made a state visit to the United States last April, is showing a video of a professional baseball ceremonial first pitch to Ted Sarandos, Co-CEO of Netflix, during a meeting with global top executives held at the White House Reception Hall in Washington DC. [Image source=Yonhap News]
According to the Presidential Office on the 7th, Sarandos expressed in the letter, "Thank you once again for the warm hospitality at Blair House during my state visit last April and for arranging the investment plan announcement event." He added, "As an American who loves Korea, I was deeply impressed by your joint address to the National Assembly."
He continued, "Netflix and I will do our best to contribute to the cultural alliance between Korea and the United States and to continue showcasing excellent K-content to the world."
Sarandos also said, "I am deeply grateful that First Lady Kim sent a beautiful gift and a personal letter to Bella Bajaria, Chief Content Officer (CCO). As the First Lady requested, Netflix will strive to discover new Korean actors, directors, and writers, becoming a window of opportunity for Korean audiovisual works to be continuously loved worldwide."
Earlier, during President Yoon’s state visit to the U.S. in April, Sarandos promised to invest $2.5 billion (approximately 3.3 trillion KRW) over the next four years in Korean dramas, movies, reality shows, and other K-content.
Sarandos is expected to visit Korea for one or two nights starting on the 20th and meet with key Korean figures, including Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. However, due to scheduling, a meeting with President Yoon is unlikely.
He is also reported to plan a "Dialogue with Korean Film Students" during his visit. However, nothing has been finalized yet, and detailed program schedules are still being coordinated.
This will be the first visit by a Netflix CEO to Korea in a year. In June last year, then-CEO Reed Hastings visited Korea for one or two nights and met with partner company representatives and Seoul office staff.
Meanwhile, shortly after President Yoon announced the Netflix investment during his U.S. visit in April, controversy arose in the political sphere.
Democratic Party lawmaker Yang Yi-won-young misinterpreted reports about the "Netflix investment attraction" as "investing in Netflix" and posted a critical message on her personal social media account, which caused backlash.
On the morning of April 25, Yang posted on Facebook, "There is news that President Yoon will invest about 3.3 trillion KRW in Netflix," and criticized the move, questioning "Why invest?" before deleting the post.
This incident was selected as one of the "Top 30 Fake News in Our Society in the Past Year" by civic groups Barun Media Citizens' Action and the Fair Media National Solidarity, announced on the 11th of last month.
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