The MCST to boost support for online streaming content and shared growth
with the country’s streaming service industry

On August 3 (Wednesday), Minister Park Bo Gyoon of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (MCST) met with broadcast video service providers and streaming service providers at the Seoul office of the MCST Copyright Protection Division. At the meeting, the Minister related how he would support the growth of the country’s streaming industry through robust policies based on the competitiveness of the South Korean culture.

“The opportunities for K-content are rapidly expanding through global streaming services,” said the Minister. Taking Extraordinary Attorney Woo as an example, he said, “Content is the key.” Extraordinary Attorney Woo is recent soap opera that gained very high ratings despite its cable channel’s relatively low-key presence.

At the meeting, the Minister heard about current issues concerning the broadcast video and streaming industry and discussed measures to further advance the industry through policy support and deregulation.

Participants shared their ideas on how to promote the shared growth of K-content and the streaming industry at a time when the influence of global investment and content distribution is surging. Ideas included expanding support for the planning, development, and production of streaming-specific content; supporting domestic streaming services as they advance into global markets; expanding policy financing to secure intellectual property for content; expanding support for re-production of content for export; and introducing a self-rating system for streaming content.

In line with the current government’s commitment to support streaming content for the global market and strengthen the country’s related competitiveness, Minister Park pledged to provide systematic support for the planning, development, production, and export of streaming content, nurture skilled talent, and expand the base for content production. He also reiterated the Ministry’s plan to invest 11.6 billion won to support the production of streaming-specific content and to establish a soap opera fund amounting to 40 billion won while aggressively expanding policy financing to secure content intellectual property.

Minister Park stated that production companies will also benefit from tax exemptions for production costs for streaming content from next year. As for a self-rating system, he believed that it could be introduced soon since there have been no particular objections to the proposal.

“Streaming is a new platform that is disrupting the existing order of media environments and spearheading the Korean Wave. We will join forces with the industry and support it with effective policies to create an environment in which talented creators can be fostered and it is easy to attract investment and producers for high-quality content,” said the Minister.

Minister Park plans to continue meeting with members of different sectors in order to listen to voices from the field.

(Source)

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