CJ ENM's W25.3b K-pop investment fund to launch

CJ ENM, the operator of K-pop-oriented cable channel Mnet, said Monday it will launch a 25.3 billion-won ($21.8 million) investment fund dedicated to the K-pop industry.

The establishment of the fund, KC Vivace Investment Association, is in line with the entertainment giant's pledge three weeks earlier to set up a 30 billion-won investment fund to apologize for vote manipulation in a fan-voted Mnet K-pop audition show.

Chief producers of the popular audition show, "Produce 101," are standing trial over charges of rigging the results of the show's third and fourth seasons in favor of certain contenders in return for financial rewards.

With the new investment fund, Mnet plans to financially assist promising but underfunded K-pop artists and entertainment creators.

The fund will also be used to help bolster the ecology of the music industry and secure the sustainable development of K-pop, according to the company.

CJ provided 25 billion won, or 98.81 percent of the total fund, and KC Ventures, a venture capital company, chipped in the remaining 300 million won.

The fund will operate independently of CJ ENM for the next seven years.

CJ said that going forward, the company plans to pour more money into the fund. (Yonhap)