Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) is planning to carry out its budget that will support contents manufacturers early and it is especially going to support small and medium companies that are having difficulties in exporting its products to China.
MCST made an announcement on the 16th that it will be carrying out budget of $103 million (116 billion KRW) early in order to reduce financial burden for companies, which are having difficulties with funding, in manufacturing their contents.
It is going to first support companies that were affected by changes in foreign markets. Through contests per field and genre such as game, popular music, concert, and animation, it is going to provide its budget early.
For small and medium contents manufacturers that are having management difficulties due to negative effects from businesses in China, it is going to provide emergency management stabilization fund (interest rate: 3.35%, term of a loan: 5 years (Grace period: 2 years), limit: $888,000 (1 billion KRW)).
Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA) is going to increase size of funding support from $66.6 million (75.0 billion KRW) to $111 million (125 billion KRW) and added management difficulty due to ‘damages from protective trade’ as reason for support.
MCST is going to hold co-briefing session with SMBA on the 27th in order to let such information known to contents manufacturers. “Chinese Business Damage Report Center’, which understands damages that companies that are related to Chinese market have taken, will be managed by ‘Korea Creative Content Agency’. MCST and SMBA are going to ease geopolitical risk elements that arise from leaning too much on specific markets and push for diversification of markets in order to expand markets for contents.
MCST and SMBA are going to enforce support for companies that have entered overseas market based on business center (Jakarta) that is established in Indonesia which is South-East Asia’s biggest market and establish additional supporting camp in Thailand or Vietnam.
They are also going to prevent reduction of trade of contents with Chinese market leading to damaging potential of promising markets. In order to have trades between South Korean companies and Chinese companies to continue, they are going to carry out marketing activities by holding networking events and showcase and participating in variety of exhibitions. By establishing additional business bases in local cities, where number of demands for South Korean contents is high, other than business center in Beijing, it is going to try strengthening trades between South Korean companies and Chinese companies and marketing supports.
They are planning to actively request China to resume South Korea-China Cultural Industry Forum through South Korea-China-Japan Cultural Contents Industry Forum’s working-level meetings for general managers or above which will take place on the 24th. By establishing hotlines through Korea Copyright Commission’s Beijing office so that authorities can share information, they are going to work on responding to damages swiftly.
In order to build up protection of killer contents, they are going to increase number of monitoring personnel in China from 3 to 5 and expand monitoring range from normal online sites to major SNS such as Weibo. By end of this March, they are also going to increase Chinese relevant organization’s number of personnel who is responsible for responding to violations of South Korean contents from 1 to 2.
“We have to take this situation as an opportunity to improve constitution of our contents industries.” said a representative for MCST’s policies.
Staff Reporter Kim, Siso | siso@etnews.com