Science Ministry suggests tax cuts to support content biz

The Ministry of Science on Friday suggested a slew of ideas such as tax reductions for over-the-top, or streaming, content producers to expand the South Korean content business and boost its global competitiveness.

The government said the support will foster high-quality, exclusive content production on domestic platforms as well as emerging media businesses involving the metaverse and content creators.

"We will turn the nation's content industry into an engine for the country's growth and export," said Lee Jong-ho, the Minister of Science.

The Ministry said it would revise the Tax Reduction Act to also include OTT creators to receive tax cuts. Under the current law, small and medium-sized firms and large conglomerates that create movies or television programs can receive up to 10 percent and 3 percent tax cuts, respectively, based on their production costs.

In addition, the ministry said holding the Global OTT Awards at popular international events such as the Busan International Film Festival would help advertise domestic streaming media services.

Plans to further promote the services at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation were also presented, with local language dubbing and subtitling automation technology also set to be provided.

The government further mentioned it will push for the creation and expansion of funds that would invest in the global expansion of domestic streaming platforms.

The Ministry of Science stressed that the growth of the domestic industry depends more on overseas expansion than domestic expansion, citing that foreign users subscribe to two to four such services on average.

The working environment for content creators is also set to be improved.

The Ministry of Science says it will optimize the distribution system of profits between creators, agencies and platforms so that creators are notified transparently of platforms' usage of their content.

Plans to protect the rights of one-person media workers, such as providing them with legal counseling channels and standardized contracts, will come under review.

The One-person Media Promotion Act, which intends to support content creators with educational and certificate programs, is also under review to systemically support creators.