Public Institutions under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Lose Significance of Relocation to Local Areas

All Eight Locations Own and Operate Buildings and Offices in Seoul
Annual Rental Cost of 11.8 Billion Won "Unnecessary Expense"

All eight public institutions under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism that relocated to provincial areas still own and operate buildings and offices in Seoul. The annual rental cost amounts to a staggering 11.8 billion KRW.

As part of the national balanced development policy, the government promoted the relocation of 153 institutions to ten innovation cities nationwide starting in 2007. The plan was fully completed in December 2019.

In the case of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the relocation began in September 2013 with the Film Rating Board, followed by the Korea Film Council and Game Rating and Administration Committee (both in Busan), the Arts Council Korea and Korea Creative Content Agency (both in Naju), Korea Tourism Organization (Wonju), Korea Copyright Commission (Jinju), and Korea Publication Industry Promotion Agency (Jeonju). However, all of them own and operate buildings and offices with a total floor area of 94,243㎡ in Seoul and other metropolitan areas. To maintain these, 260 resident staff and an annual rental cost of 11.8 billion KRW are invested.

The Korea Creative Content Agency operates buildings and offices with a total floor area of 58,178㎡ in seven locations including Gangnam-gu, Jung-gu, Dongdaemun-gu, and Mapo-gu in Seoul. It spends about 9.9 billion KRW annually on rental costs. The Korea Tourism Organization operates an office in Seoul to retain its existing headquarters staff (42 people). It also provided special privileges not stipulated in regulations, such as renting out buildings for the founding ceremony of a conservative group.

The Arts Council Korea carries out core projects such as the Arts Archive, Human Resources Development Institute, and Arts Theater operation in Seoul, with a total floor area of 26,212㎡. Nearly half of its 266 employees, 118 people, reside there, undermining the original purpose of relocation to the provinces. Additionally, the Korea Copyright Commission spends 900 million KRW annually to maintain buildings in Yongsan-gu and Jung-gu, and the Korea Publication Industry Promotion Agency spends 700 million KRW annually to operate two buildings in Mapo-gu. The Film Rating Board, despite having no resident staff, rents an office of about 158㎡ for meetings and training purposes, spending 80 million KRW annually.

Lee Byung-hoon, a member of the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee from the Democratic Party, stated, "They are wasting taxpayers’ money by placing buildings and personnel in Seoul. Leaving core functions in Seoul nullifies the purpose of relocation to the provinces." He emphasized, "Unnecessary existing headquarters buildings should be sold promptly, and resident personnel in the metropolitan area should be minimized to reduce unnecessary expenditures while establishing themselves as representative regional institutions."