Chairman Park Kiyong Steps Down... "I Will Return as a Filmmaker to Lend Support"

Starting Next Month, Acting Duty System
Director Kwon Byung-gyun Also Leaves on the 29th

The Korean Film Council will operate under an acting leadership system starting next month. Chairman Park Gi-yong is concluding his two-year term and will retire on the 31st. Kwon Byung-gyun, the Secretary-General appointed in January last year, will also leave on the 29th. According to the "Act on the Promotion of Films and Video," if the chairman is unable to perform his duties, the vice chairman acts on his behalf. If that is also not possible, the eldest member among the commissioners takes over. The Secretary-General's duties are overseen by the Head of Management according to internal regulations. The Korean Film Council plans to proceed with subsequent procedures such as electing a new chairman once successors to Chairman Park and Commissioner Lee Eon-hee are appointed.

Chairman Park, who is about to retire, took office in January 2022 and has worked to lay the foundation for promoting Korean cinema. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact, which caused a sharp decline in the Film Development Fund last year, he successfully induced a government subsidy of 80 billion won, and this year, for the first time ever, secured 30 billion won from the Sports Fund and 5.4 billion won from the Lottery Fund. He also deeply addressed key policy agendas for the coexistence and resurgence of the film industry, such as holdbacks and theater per-customer spending. Additionally, he achieved various milestones including the full-scale construction of the Busan Filming Studio, the launch of AFAN (Asian Film Alliance Network), and the establishment of the Korea-France Film Academy.

Chairman Park will return next month as a professor in the Department of Film Studies, majoring in feature film production, at Dankook University Graduate School of Culture and Arts. At his retirement ceremony on the 29th, he stated, "I have worked hard over the past two years to overcome the crisis facing the Korean film industry, but I feel a heavy responsibility as I leave without seeing its resurgence." He added, "Now, I will return as a filmmaker and contribute to restoring Korean cinema to its rightful place."