"2.4 Billion Won Taxpayer Money Wasted"... Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Overhauls Yeongjinwi's Negligent Management

2.4 Billion Won Spent on Korea-ASEAN Film Organization Establishment Ultimately 'Failed'
'Hanhanryeong' Role Reduced, China Office Continues Operation
Minister Park Bo-gyun: "Korean Film Council Must Change Amid Tax Waste and Favoritism Controversy"

The government is set to overhaul the operations of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) due to issues of mismanagement and unfair practices.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Bo-gyun.
[Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism]

On the 15th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that it will implement a thorough restructuring and comprehensive reform of KOFIC’s projects and operational system, following its reckless management of the Film Development Fund and selection of support recipients that violated established principles.

The Ministry pointed out two major problems in KOFIC’s management of the film fund budget: the inertia of project operations without improvement efforts and unfairness in the evaluation of support projects.

KOFIC allocated a budget of 6.9 billion KRW over five years starting in 2019 to establish the "Korea-ASEAN Film Organization." However, the project effectively collapsed due to failure to reach agreements with ASEAN countries. Despite the lack of response from partner countries, KOFIC continued to allocate funds for exchange events over five years, wasting more than 2.4 billion KRW.

The delayed reduction of staff at the China office, whose role had diminished, was also cited as an example of mismanagement. Despite the Korea-China restrictions (Hanhanryeong) and COVID-19 preventing the release and distribution of Korean films in China, KOFIC maintained four staff members at the China office until last year and only reduced the number to two this year.

Most projects of the special committee for follow-up measures on the blacklist have ended, and only 100 million KRW was budgeted for research this year, but the committee’s operation was extended, confirming continued allocation of personnel and budget.

Additionally, it was revealed that last year’s "Support for Independent Film Theaters" project provided funds to theaters that did not meet the eligibility criteria. Theaters with debts to KOFIC were ineligible to apply, but applications were accepted and one such theater was selected, receiving 114 million KRW in support.

In response to criticism during last year’s National Assembly audit, KOFIC relaxed the eligibility criteria, changing the requirement from "no debts to KOFIC at the time of application" to "no debts to KOFIC before the start of project evaluation."

The lack of expertise in the evaluation of public contest projects was also criticized. According to the Ministry, KOFIC operates a pool of about 1,000 evaluators for public contests, but the qualification standards for candidates were excessively low compared to other institutions such as the Korea Creative Content Agency. It was pointed out as problematic that the secretariat only formally reviewed whether candidates met the criteria without an external evaluation process to verify the candidate pool.

Furthermore, it was confirmed that there is overlap and duplication in support projects, such as those for animation planning, development, and production, between KOFIC and the Korea Creative Content Agency, indicating a need for coordination of similar and overlapping projects.

The Ministry emphasized that, given the crisis facing the Korean film industry due to the aftermath of COVID-19 and the rise of OTT platforms, strong restructuring and innovation are necessary for KOFIC to overcome these challenges.

Park Bo-gyun, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, "KOFIC, the flagship organization of the film industry, is wasting taxpayers’ money and revealing favoritism and unfairness in public contest evaluations. To gain public support, it is essential for KOFIC to tighten its belt and adopt a renewed and determined attitude."

The Ministry plans to establish a foundation for the film industry’s resurgence through improving expenditure efficiency and institutional reforms in KOFIC’s future projects.