The government is laying the groundwork for growth among creators, production companies, platforms, and the content creation industry.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on September 10 the '7th Long-Term Plan for the Promotion of the Broadcasting and Video Industry (2026-2030).' This plan was proactively established two years ahead of the end of the previous '6th Long-Term Plan (2023-2027)' to reflect the rapidly changing environment of the broadcasting and video content industry.
After more than 18 communication sessions, including industry meetings and site visits, the ministry outlined four key strategies and 12 detailed tasks aimed at achieving the following goals by 2030: 30 trillion won in industry revenue, 306 million dollars in content exports, and doubling the proportion of production companies with revenues exceeding 10 billion won (from the current 13.9% to 27.8%).
First, the ministry believes that securing intellectual property rights for production companies is key to ensuring the sustainability of the broadcasting and video industry. To this end, it plans to increase subsidies for production costs necessary to secure intellectual property rights (IP) for both drama and non-drama formats. In the long term, the ministry aims to expand support through funds, loans, and tax incentives, enabling production companies to cover about 50% of the average drama production costs, which range from 10 to 15 billion won for a 10-episode series.
Additionally, the ministry has designated content creators on platforms like YouTube as a new source of intellectual property and a strategic genre for spreading 'K-content' globally, committing to support the entire production cycle.
As competition intensifies among global broadcasting and video content distribution platforms, the ministry will enhance support for domestic platforms, including online video services (OTT), to strengthen their competitiveness in both domestic and international markets. This includes improving the sound and image quality of existing videos and continuing support for dubbing and subtitles for direct overseas expansion.
The ministry will also expand support for co-productions between domestic production companies and foreign broadcasters and studios, as well as increase production cost rebates (location incentives) to encourage domestic filming of major international productions, similar to past projects like 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' (2015) and 'Black Panther' (2018). Furthermore, it aims to develop the International Broadcasting and Video Market (BCWW) into Asia's largest event and to re-host the Asia Drama Conference, positioning South Korea as a future hub for international broadcasting and video content production.
To reflect the changing video content environment, the ministry will establish integrated promotion legislation covering broadcasting, OTT, film, animation, and new media video content (including creator content, AI-generated videos, and virtual humans). It will also create a structured support ladder for systematically nurturing industry professionals, discovering new talent, enhancing the skills of existing workers, and cultivating leaders in the OTT industry.
To increase the utilization of the 'Virtual Studio' (located within Daejeon Studio Cube), which opened in December last year, the ministry will implement preferential measures for production companies and fully remodel the Digital Magic Space (DMS) studio in Sangam-dong, Seoul, to equip it with the latest filming and post-production facilities.
In response to the evolving industry environment, including the emergence of OTT platforms, the ministry will push for revisions to standard contracts in the broadcasting sector to foster a fair contract culture and will work on establishing standard contracts for content creators to protect their rights.
Moreover, to strengthen copyright protection, the ministry will actively utilize the recently implemented emergency blocking system for illegal sites (since May 2026) and enhance international cooperation to address copyright infringement issues abroad. Additionally, it will ensure the viewing rights of vulnerable groups through the integrated cultural usage voucher and continue to support the production of voice-over subtitles and audio description broadcasts to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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