Animation Financial Support to Be Expanded

Government Announces '5-Year Basic Plan for Animation Industry Promotion'
Expansion of Tax Credit for Production Costs and Support for Training Production Personnel

Government support for the animation industry will be significantly expanded.

On the 24th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced the "Five-Year Basic Plan for Animation Industry Promotion." This is the first basic plan established based on Article 4 of the "Act on the Promotion of the Animation Industry." It was completed through consultations with the animation industry, public-private policy councils, and the Animation Promotion Committee. The promotion strategy is tailored to address the weak creative foundation centered on small and medium-sized enterprises, the market structure concentrated on content for infants and toddlers, and the shortage of professional manpower. The plan aims to increase domestic animation industry sales to 1 trillion won by 2025 by implementing nine detailed tasks.

The most notable task is financial support. The government will continuously form animation funds and invest 50 billion won by 2025. Corporate growth will also be driven through project investments and equity investments. A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official stated, "We will develop fund products considering the characteristics of the animation industry and expand the scale of venture investment funds to encourage investment in neglected genres." The scope of tax credits for animation production costs will also be expanded. Currently, tax credits for video content production costs apply only to broadcast and theatrical animations. The ministry plans to include animations distributed through online video services (OTT) by amending the Restriction of Special Taxation Act. The official added, "We will review the total volume system and applicable media to ensure that animations are exposed through various distribution channels."

Key tasks also include support for balanced training of production personnel. This involves producing various experts through the Creative Talent Partnership Project and establishing an animation major course at the Film Academy. Plans to support the training of new personnel and link the Ministry of Employment and Labor's job projects with animation production workforce development projects are also being considered. A ministry official said, "We will provide customized support programs for newly hired regular employees at animation companies and expand projects that strengthen the connection between related schools and the field." He added, "We also plan to establish standard contracts in the freelance and co-production sectors so that they can work in a fair industrial environment."

The government will also strengthen support for animation production using existing content intellectual property (IP) and commercialization of derivative products utilizing animation IP. Furthermore, it will create a regional-based ecosystem by developing excellent animation materials with regional characteristics and encouraging animation creation using local characters. In addition, the government plans to lay the foundation for sustainable growth through overseas broadcaster connections and support for overseas film festival submissions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.