The Korean Film Council has announced a plan to expand the Korean film industry from its current size of KW1.2 trillion (US$1.04 billion) to KW1.5 trillion (US$1.3 billion) by 2013. The plan aims to achieve its goal by overcoming the limits of Korean films’ domestic market, advancing into global and developing future markets.

Goals exist in a variety of sectors. The plan intends to increase the gross revenue from the export of completed films and technical services to KW100 billion and solidify an ancillary market around the size of KW400 billion by working harder against piracy and nurturing legitimate downloading/streaming services. These ancillary and export markets would combine with a theatrical gross of nearly KW1 trillion to reach the stated goal of KW1.5 trillion.

Co-production and regional development are the cornerstones of the new plan. It intends to increase the size of the local film production market to KW400 billion through such means as international co-productions and foreign productions’ location shoots in Korea.

In connection with the recent Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA), a co-production agreement with China is in the works, as well as more events to match Korean filmmakers with foreign investors. The plan also hopes to expand the scope of the Asian Film Market, develop a global studio, and nurture human resources through the Korean Film Academy. To these ends KOFIC has committed an investment of KW170 billion. Additionally, KOFIC will raise its location incentive for foreign productions from 25% to 40% of production costs.