[Sportschosun, Lee Ji-hyun] The entertainment industry is lending support to the government’s proposal for mutual growth aimed at normalizing Korea’s film production environment. Major domestic management agencies have agreed to cooperate in setting actor fees for mid-budget films receiving government support at less than 10% of net production costs.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Film Council signed an agreement on July 16 at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, in Jongno District, Seoul, to promote Korean film production through cooperation among the government, producers and management agencies.
The agreement was joined by the Korean Film Producers Association, the Producers Guild of Korea, and major domestic management agencies including BH Entertainment, Management SOOP and J-Wide Company.
At the heart of the pact is a commitment by producers and management agencies to help keep the fees for lead and supporting actors in projects selected for the Korean Film Council’s mid-budget film production support program below 10% of net production costs.
For example, if a film with a net production budget of 5 billion won is selected for the program, the guideline would recommend keeping the fee for one lead actor below 500 million won. However, the agreement is voluntary and carries no legal force, making it a moral commitment to solidarity within the industry.
BH Entertainment, which represents Lee Byung-hun, Han Ji-min and Park Bo-young; Management SOOP, home to Gong Yoo, Gong Hyo-jin, Jeon Do-yeon and Bae Suzy; and J-Wide Company, which represents Kim So-yeon, Bae Jong-ok and Choo Young-woo, all took part in the agreement and expressed support for the government’s goal.
The government plans to ensure the agreement does not remain a one-time measure by forming a private-sector consultative body led by management agencies, producers and investors and distributors to continue discussing ways to improve production conditions.
The agreement is part of a broader government effort to revive the Korean film industry, which has been sluggish since the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the government launched a 10 billion won mid-budget film production support program, and this year it expanded the budget sharply to 46 billion won.
Still, some in the industry are taking a cautious view of how effective the agreement will be. That is because its scope is limited to the Korean Film Council’s mid-budget film support program for productions with budgets between 2 billion won and under 10 billion won.
In particular, recent controversy over high actor fees has mostly centered on global OTT original series with budgets in the tens of billions of won, leading some to question whether the agreement will actually change fee structures.
Meanwhile, the first round of projects selected this year for the Korean Film Council’s mid-budget film production support program includes "Gardeners," starring Song Kang-ho, Koo Kyo-hwan and Song Seung-heon, and "Your Target," starring Go Hyun-jung and Park Jung-min. However, the agencies representing those actors were reportedly not among the participants in this agreement. The Korean Film Council said it plans to gradually expand the number of management agencies taking part in the pact.
olzllovely@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
