Rep. Lee Hoon-gi of the Democratic Party said April 29 he will introduce a bill next month to designate K-content as a national strategic industry.
Lee made the remarks at a forum titled “Policies and Strategies to Strengthen the Global Competitiveness of the K-Media Content Industry,” co-hosted with the Korea Broadcasters Association at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building. He said the current governance structure is limited because responsibilities are split among the Korea Communications Commission, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The forum was organized to assess what participants called a structural disconnect in which K-content’s global success has not translated into growth for South Korea’s domestic media industry, and to explore policy directions.
“We need to look back at what we were doing while the world was going wild over ‘K-pop Demon Hunters,’” Lee said, adding that laws and policies supporting K-content’s global competitiveness remain weak.
Korea Broadcasters Association President Bang Moon-shin also said the belief that the K-culture boom is leading to industrial growth is “an illusion,” and argued that asymmetric regulation is constraining content production.
The forum included a presentation by Kyung Hee University professor Lee Sang-won and drew experts from academia and industry. Participants shared concerns about a broader industry downturn, citing falling terrestrial broadcasters’ revenue, fewer drama slots and a loss-making structure for over-the-top streaming services.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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