Culture Ministry to Overhaul '1% of Construction Cost for Artworks' System... Expanding Public Contest and Strengthening Post-Management

Gathering Field Opinions on the Amendment to the Culture and Arts Promotion Act
Expanding Public Art Competition Eligibility and Establishing a Committee Candidate Pool
Policy Forum to Be Held on the 16th

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is set to discuss ways to increase transparency in the selection of artworks for buildings and to strengthen post-installation management of these works.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will hold a "Policy Discussion on the Improvement of the Architectural Artwork System" at the National Folk Museum Auditorium on the 16th. The discussion will focus on enhancing fairness and transparency in the architectural artwork system and exploring mid- to long-term improvement measures. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

The ministry announced on September 11 that it will hold the "Policy Forum on Improving the Building Artworks System" at 2 p.m. on the 16th in the main auditorium of the National Folk Museum. The forum aims to gather feedback from the field on building artwork-related provisions within the full amendment bill to the Culture and Arts Promotion Act, which was sponsored by Assemblyman Cho Gye-won in July, and to discuss mid- to long-term directions for system improvements.

The building artworks system requires that, when constructing buildings of at least 10,000 square meters for designated purposes, up to 1% of the construction cost (or the amount specified by presidential decree) be used for installing artworks on the premises, or that 70% of that amount be contributed to the Culture and Arts Promotion Fund. This system began in 1972 as a recommendation to install artworks, became mandatory in 1995, and, in 2011, introduced a selective funding mechanism allowing contributions to the fund in lieu of installing works. Demands for improvements have continued, particularly concerning fairness and transparency in artwork selection and management issues following installation.

At the forum, the ministry will present a revision that expands the obligation to publicly solicit proposals for artworks and introduces a system for public competition agencies. The measures also include establishing a national pool of deliberation committee candidates that local governments can utilize.

Kyungshin Park, Adjunct Professor at Ewha Womans University, will give a presentation themed "Mid- to Long-Term Development Plans for the Building Artworks System," in which she will address alternatives such as fulfilling installation obligations through the rental of artworks and strengthening post-installation management. Participating in the designated discussion are artists in painting, sculpture, and media art, as well as experts from the architecture field, related associations and organizations, and local government officials, with Professor Donggi Lee of Kookmin University serving as the moderator for the concluding general discussion.

A ministry official stated, "It is time to reassess the operating methods to suit the changed creative environment and current conditions in the construction field," adding, "We will ensure that voices from the field are faithfully reflected during the legislative review process at the National Assembly and in shaping system improvement measures."

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