Government Injects 19.8 Billion Won to Foster AI Content...Scaling Up "Collaborative-Type" Projects Between Large and Small Firms

MCST and KOCCA Launch Three-Track Support System for Entry, Leading, and Collaborative Growth Stages
Up to 700 Million Won Allocated for Convergence Content... Sixteen Joint Growth Projects for Large and Small Firms
Beyond Simple Funding, Close Legal and Copyright Support... Large-Scale Festival to Be Held in the Second Half of the Year

The government has designated AI as the core driver of the content industry and will inject a budget of 19.8 billion won this year. Through a three-track support system tailored to company size, it aims to boost the global competitiveness of K-content.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) announced on the 24th their plan for an "AI Content Production Support" program. The project is divided into three tracks: entry, leading, and collaborative, covering everything from gaining a foothold in the market to expanding overseas.

In the "entry-type" track, which supports small and medium-sized enterprises that have just entered the market, 24 projects will be carefully selected and provided with up to 200 million won each. The focus is on creating new consumer experiences by combining new technologies such as extended reality (XR) with existing production processes. In the "leading-type" track, which targets the global stage, ten projects incorporating advanced AI technologies will be chosen and supported with up to 700 million won.

The "collaborative-type" track, in which large or mid-sized companies join hands with small and medium-sized enterprises to promote convergence across different industries, has been significantly scaled up. The number of projects will increase from four last year to sixteen this year, with up to 400 million won to be injected into each. A KOCCA official said, "We plan to hold a related briefing session next month and begin full-scale matchmaking between companies."

The support will not be limited to funding. KOCCA will provide close linkage to experts in legal and copyright consulting, as well as commercialization consulting, to strengthen companies' practical defense capabilities and help them generate stable profits. In the second half of the year, it will hold an "AI Content Festival" to open up channels for overseas expansion.

Yoo Hyunseok, Acting President of KOCCA, said, "We will solidify the scale and structure of our support so that companies can accumulate experience in AI convergence and actually carry out commercialization."