Kocca plans one-stop support committee to make Korea an IP powerhouse

Korea Creative Content Agency (Kocca) will launch a committee overseeing the entire life cycle of the country's original content as part of its effort to turn Korea into a global intellectual property (IP) powerhouse, the state-backed agency's head, Kim Yoon-zi, said Thursday. 

The new committee will serve as a one-stop support center, connecting parties across the content life cycle — including producers, investors, distributors and financial institutions — to provide comprehensive support rather than assistance limited to individual stages.

The committee takes a cue from Japan's production committee model, in which companies involved in a content project jointly shoulder the financial risk and share the profits in proportion to their investments. The Korean version will be rolled out in phases, according to Kim.

“The committee will start by connecting certain IP to consumer goods as well as to different genres,” Kim said in a press conference Thursday. Kim, a former senior researcher at the Export-Import Bank of Korea, was newly appointed as the president of the agency in June, filling in the position that was left vacant for more than a year.

“There are multiple cases of a webtoon being remade into dramas, but I believe IP expansion has to be done more broadly, such as turning it into a theme park, merchandise goods or more. Such collaboration hasn't been done in Korea, so the Kocca wants to act as an administrator among relevant players.”

Kim also plans to overhaul the agency's rigid project financing structure.

Under the current system, Kocca's support programs are funded by the government with predetermined budgets, which leave some projects submitted later or early in the year short of funding, as either those budgets run out or haven't been allocated yet.

Kim envisions replacing this approach with a pooled financing system to which multiple parties can contribute.

“That way, we can provide financial help to multiyear projects or those that are submitted later in the year or early in the year,” Kim said. 

Korean content logged growth last year amid heightened interest in so-called K-culture. Revenue generated from K-content reached 161.5 trillion won in 2025, Kocca said, a 2.6 percent year-on-year jump, while exports jumped 5.9 percent to $15 billion during the cited period. 

“While the absolute figure has seen an increase, the growth rate has slowed due to an increase in production costs hence low profitability,” Kim said. 

“We aim to build a growth cycle instead of fortifying existing programs.”

BY JIN EUN-SOO [[email protected]]