Culture Ministry launches $414 million investment initiative
Published: 05 Feb. 2025, 15:50
![Culture Minister Yu In-chon greets in sign language at the fifth Korean Sign Language Day event in the Swiss Grand Hotel, western Seoul on Feb. 3. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/02/05/0ce9cff4-d3a5-426b-a4f3-2779c9d2fa64.jpg)
Culture Minister Yu In-chon greets in sign language at the fifth Korean Sign Language Day event in the Swiss Grand Hotel, western Seoul on Feb. 3. [NEWS1]
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism launched a new investment initiative totaling 600 billion won ($414 million).
It will be dedicated to bolstering a slew of local culture sectors, including films and animations, and boosting the growth of startups, according to the ministry on Wednesday.
Just over half of the fund will be pulled from within the government, and the rest is slated to be sourced from private investments vetted by the Korea Venture Investment Corporation.
The general culture fund will serve a wide array of purposes in the general culture sector, while the content fostering fund will focus on the strategic growth of promising firms.
Funds will also be established for intellectual property (IP), new technologies and exports aimed at helping domestic content production companies enter the global market, according to the Culture Ministry.
The Culture Ministry also said that it will increase funding for the film industry by 10 billion won compared to last year and establish a new fund dedicated to animated content in the government's bid to diversify the range and genre of homegrown digital pictures.
The initiative comes at a time of declining private investments in the country's film sector. The Ministry said that in addition to its project, it also aims to ease regulations for potential investors and improve the sector's recent sluggish growth.
Applications to apply for the Culture Ministry's funds will be available from Feb. 12 through 19 on Korea Venture Investment Corporation’s official website, nstall.kvic.or.kr.
“We are working to enhance the content market through policy financing amid investment challenges,” said Yoon Yang-soo, the director of the Ministry's content policy. “We aim to help content companies enhance their competitiveness and alleviate their challenges through these funds.”
BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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