Ruling party pushes to increase culture budget

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details on support measures in 7-8 paras)
By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Yonhap) -- The ruling party will push to nearly double the ratio of the nation's cultural budget to 2 percent of the total by 2013 as part of efforts to promote culture and the arts industry, and create more jobs, party officials said Monday.
Rep. Lee Joo-young, chief policy maker of the Grand National Party (GNP), demanded the government spend more on the cultural sector, during a policy coordination meeting between the party and the government, they said.
"Power of culture not only raises economic power but also elevates the nation's brand value," Lee was quoted as saying. "A paradigm shift is needed to allocate the national budget in accordance with the era of culture."
During the meeting, Culture Minister Choung Byoung-gug presented the ministry's plan to expand the share of the ministry's budget from the current 1 percent to 1.5 percent by next year and to 2 percent by 2013, to which the party expressed support, according to the party officials who attended the meeting.
The ministry has requested the finance ministry to set aside 5 trillion won (US$4.6 billion) for next year's budget, up from this year's 3.5 trillion won, to support cultural contents and the tourism industry ahead of international events, including the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
"(The government) is drafting next year's budget with the focus on creating 25,000 jobs for the youth," Choung said.
As part of efforts to foster the cultural sector, the government and the ruling party agreed to increase investment in such high-value added industries as cartoons, animation and games, and create a fund to help them raise money needed for related infrastructure, officials said.
They also discussed ways to boost the rising popularity of Korean pop culture, known as the "Korean Wave," in foreign countries by developing travel packages featuring traditional culture programs and assets, and increasing youth employment in tourism and the leisure industry, they noted.
The finance ministry balked at the request, however, citing the government's mid-term budget plan, the officials said.
ejkim@yna.co.kr