Government Support Caps Actor Pay at 10% for Mid-Budget Films

Rescue operation for sinking K-movie: '10% actor-pay rule' gets underway

South Korea’s film ecosystem is seeking a dramatic turnaround at the edge of a cliff. To save Chungmuro from a crisis brought on by skyrocketing production costs, the government, major management companies and producers finally pulled out all the stops. At the center of the effort is a groundbreaking agreement on an actor-pay ceiling for lead and supporting roles, under the banner of 'less than 10% of net production cost'.

On the 16th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Film Council signed a historic multilateral agreement at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul branch, for 'revitalizing Korean film production'. At the event, not only major management firms representing the country, including BH Entertainment, Management Forest and J-Wide Company, but also leaders of the Korea Film Producers Association and the Korea Film Producers Guild (PGK) all took part, underscoring their determination to overcome the crisis.

The most lethal weapon in this agreement is the '10% actor-pay rule' applied to projects selected under the Korea Film Council’s 'mid-budget film production support' program. The policy is a strong declaration aimed at breaking a vicious cycle in which actors’ astronomically inflated salaries lead to lower production quality and reduced production scale.

The plan also includes a tight net designed so the deal does not remain a mere showy event. It will immediately launch a privately led 'voluntary consultative body' and keep putting the structural contradictions in the production environment onto the operating table. As an 'mutual-benefit paradigm' built voluntarily by the industry beyond legal compulsion, expectations across Chungmuro and beyond are running high.

The government’s financial support is equally forceful. It newly earmarked 10 billion won for next year’s 'mid-budget film production support' budget, and expanded this year’s total support scale to 46 billion won, backing the firepower of K-content.

Culture Minister Choi Hwiyoung said, "The government’s bold injection of finances and the film industry’s 'mutual-benefit resolve' will create explosive synergy," adding that it will provide full-throated support. Han Sangjun, chair of the Korea Film Council, also said, "Without the revival of 'mid-to-low budget films', there is no future," not hiding the urgency of its efforts to restore the ecosystem.