A public-private consultative body to address the film holdback issue, which has emerged as the biggest concern in Korea's film industry, will be launched in May.
Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young announced the plan on Tuesday afternoon during the third meeting of the Culture and Arts Policy Advisory Committee's film and video subcommittee, held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art's Seoul branch in Jongno-gu. The minister said the consultative body is scheduled to convene around May 20 as part of discussions on key issues aimed at revitalizing the struggling film and video sector. The body will include representatives from various private sector film industries and government agencies, with Minister Choi personally presiding over the meetings.
Holdback refers to a system that sets a grace period before a film shown in theaters is distributed to other platforms, an issue over which distributors, production companies and theaters have sharply conflicting interests. While holdback consultative bodies have existed in the past, they have continued without establishing clear standards. Meanwhile, discontent among film industry figures has grown, with cases such as the film "Humint" being released on an over-the-top (OTT) service just two months after its theatrical debut.
In particular, with President Lee Jae-myung recently mentioning the issue and making it a priority for the previous administration, there is a sense that a conclusion is needed this time. "This is an important and urgent matter, so we will not drag out time with mere discussions," Minister Choi said. "People from various private sector fields will come together to discuss it, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will also do what it needs to do."
The ministry also decided to distribute 4.5 million 6,000-won discount vouchers starting Wednesday, May 13, on "Culture Day," to expand the film viewing market. Considering that general theater tickets typically cost between 14,000 and 15,000 won, moviegoers will be able to watch films for 8,000 to 9,000 won. The ministry secured 27.1 billion won for this purpose in the recent supplementary budget.
At the meeting, participants also shared the status of actions taken and future plans on key agenda items raised at the previous second subcommittee meeting, including support for overseas expansion of film and video content and intellectual property (IP) acquisition, funding support within the film industry, and measures to boost movie attendance.
