ISDS Case Map
culture
One of Asia's best known movie stars stood in front of the National Assembly in Yoido, Seoul, holding a picket which read: ``Be a friend of the screen quota system and we will flap Taegukgi in the world.''
Members of the local film industry on Wednesday started their all-night relay rally against the government's decision to halve the screen quota system.
A reduction in the mandatory screening days for domestic films would pave the way for a coalition between the film industries of South Korea and the United States, said Tami Overby, president of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Korea, Wednesday.
Hollywood will get greater access to South Korea's movie market after the government said Thursday that it would cut in half the quota of homegrown films that must be shown in the country's cinemas.
South Korea is expected to announce the start of free trade negotiations with the United States on February 2, a government source said Thursday.
South Korea on Thursday decided to halve its 40-year-old screen quota, the mandatory period for theaters to show domestic films a year, to 73 days to clear the way for its free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.
South Korea said it would reduce by half its screen quota for domestically produced films, in a move aimed at facilitating talks with the United States on a free trade agreement (FTA).
Work on talks for a free trade pact between Korea and the United States has been accelerating since President Roh Moo-hyun's New Year's address. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade recently announced it would hold a public hearing early next month to gather opinions on such a pact. Accordingly, the government is likely to soon declare the start of negotiations with Washington.
The government is hurrying to conclude a free trade agreement with the United States before June 2007 at the latest. It appears natural for Korea to facilitate the FTA process with America, the world's largest economy and Seoul's greatest ally. The biggest stumbling block is the screen quota, a protective device for the domestic film industry, or so says Washington.
The government Friday launched a campaign to reduce the screen quota in exchange for starting bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) talks with the United States.
