Korean Film Council appoints Park Duk-ho as new secretary general

The newly appointed secretary general Park Duk-ho, left, and the Korean Film Council's chairperson Han Sang-jun [KOREAN FILM COUNCIL]

Park Duk-ho has been appointed as the new secretary general of the Korean Film Council (Kofic), the state-run film council said on Monday.

The vote was passed during Kofic's 11th regular meeting held on June 28.

Park's term started on June 29 and will last for a year. If reappointed, he will be able to serve consecutive one-year terms, following Kofic’s regulations, the council added.

Park joined the council’s predecessor institution in 1993 and worked at the council’s head office, alongside institutions under Kofic, such as the Korean Academy of Film Arts.

The new secretary general contributed to the global expansion of Korean films for 15 years, the council said in a press release. He started working at the council’s overseas department in 2003 and moved to a position in the council’s management department in 2017.

Park has also been the acting secretary general for Kofic since February until his recent appointment.

“I feel a strong responsibility amid such a desperate crisis when the funding for films, which is a key source for the development of K-movies, is drying up,” Park said in a press release Monday.

“I will put all my efforts into supporting the council and council’s chairperson and unite the secretarial office in order to solve the short and long-term assignments ahead, such as diversifying the council's financial sources, organizing the laws and systems and providing investment funds for the production of K-movies.”

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]