Coalition of Film Professionals Urges Megabox JoongAng: "Repay Small Businesses First"

Early Repayment for Small and Micro-Sized Businesses
Demand Based on the Debtor Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy Act

The Coalition of Film Professionals has called on Megabox JoongAng to establish measures for the protection of unpaid settlement funds. In a statement released on July 7, the coalition demanded early repayment and differentiated treatment for small and micro-sized businesses.

The coalition cited a provision in the Debtor Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy Act, which allows repayment even before the approval of a rehabilitation plan if permitted by the court. They emphasized that settlement funds classified as public interest claims for the period from June 15 to 30, as well as settlement funds from July onward, should be separately managed from rehabilitation claims and paid according to the standard settlement cycle.

Previously, Megabox JoongAng had notified each distributor via official letter that unpaid receivables incurred up to June 14 would be classified as rehabilitation claims and repaid according to the future rehabilitation plan. They instructed distributors to issue tax invoices for settlement funds from June 1 to 14 as rehabilitation claims, and those from June 15 to 30 as public interest claims.

The Coalition of Film Professionals pointed out that these settlement funds are not an issue exclusive to distributors. They explained that since the funds circulate throughout the film industry—from production companies, investors, post-production firms, to staff payments—prolonged delays would impact small production and distribution companies, as well as independent and art film distributors. It was also added that Megabox’s delegated screening partners are experiencing delays in settlement of sales passing through the head office.

Accordingly, the coalition urged the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Film Council to provide legal and accounting consultation support for affected companies, review measures to secure liquidity, and improve the system for protecting settlement funds.

The Coalition of Film Professionals is an organization composed of fifteen film-related groups, including the Korean Film Producers Association, Directors Guild of Korea, Korea Scenario Writers Association, Association of Korean Independent Film & Video, and the Korean Film Industry Labor Union.

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