Governor Choo Mi-ae Vows to Reform DMZ Film Festival's Heavy Reliance on Provincial Funding and High-Cost Operations

About Three Times the Total Budget Seoul Allocates for Its 15 Film Festivals (1.03 Billion Won)
Five Times the Annual Support Provided to the Incheon Diaspora Film Festival (600 Million Won)

Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae pointed out the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival’s heavy dependence on provincial funding and excessive organizational operating expenses, stating that the entire budget and operational structure will be reformed.

On the 20th, Governor Choo wrote on her social network service (SNS), “After taking over and reviewing Gyeonggi Province’s governance, I found several areas where operations were lax and overly indulgent,” adding, “I will thoroughly rectify these so that there is no harm to provincial residents.”

She specifically cited the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival as an example, highlighting that, according to this year’s main budget, Gyeonggi Province funding accounts for 3.1 billion won out of the festival’s total project cost of 4 billion won, or 77.5%. In contrast, revenue from tickets, sponsorship, and partnerships totals only 111 million won, which is just 2.8%.

A post by Gyeonggi Province Governor Chu Mi-ae on her SNS on the 20th

Governor Choo noted that last year, the festival attracted 13,760 attendees (6,663 paid and 7,097 free). She claimed that, if the budget is divided by the number of attendees, approximately 290,000 won was spent per attendee, and about 600,000 won per paid attendee.

She also pointed out that 1.4 billion won is spent annually on the wages of 71 people—composed of a part-time executive director as well as regular and short-term staff—indicating that large fixed organizational operation costs are incurred regardless of the actual hosting of the event.

She compared these funding levels with other local governments. According to Governor Choo, the 3.1 billion won provided by Gyeonggi Province for the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival is about three times the 1.03 billion won that Seoul provides for all 15 of its film festivals combined, while the Incheon Diaspora Film Festival’s annual budget is around 600 million won.

Governor Choo emphasized, “Of course, support for culture and the arts is necessary, but the label of culture and arts should not become an excuse for lax management. We will thoroughly examine the high-cost operating structure and inefficient budget execution that have become routine, and ensure that taxpayers’ money is used properly.”

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