SEOUL, April 18 (Yonhap) — Former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung on Friday vowed to make South Korea one of the world’s top five “soft power” countries, pledging to boost exports in the culture sector to 50 trillion won (US$35.2 billion).
Lee, who declared his presidential bid last week and is leading opinion polls for the June 3 presidential election, made the pledge ahead of his visit to the southeastern city of Daegu to attend a roundtable meeting on promoting webtoons.
“Our national budget on culture currently accounts for just 1.33 percent of the total spending,” Lee said in a Facebook post. “I will increase it significantly so it matches the level of a true cultural powerhouse.”
He pledged “full support” for the global spread of Korean cultural content, including in areas of food, cosmetics, K-pop, dramas and webtoons.
“We will give wings to the K-content boom created by those in the arts and culture industry,” he said, vowing to boost cultural exports to 50 trillion won and expand the domestic market to 300 trillion won by 2030.
Lee also promised to increase policy incentives in the K-content industry, including expanding research and development, and providing financial assistance and tax benefits.
“We will extend tax benefits, which are currently applied to video content, to webtoons as well, and actively support small and medium-sized firms in entering global markets,” he said.
Turning South Korea into a top cultural powerhouse is part of Lee’s national vision, known as the “K-initiative,” which he unveiled during his presidential bid announcement.
Lee Jae-myung (R), former leader of the liberal Democratic Party and a candidate in the party’s primary for the June 3 presidential election, speaks during a visit to the Agency for Defense Development in the central city of Daejeon on April 17, 2025. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
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