Film People Begin Protest Against Screen Quota Cut
Korea Times
Film People Begin Protest Against Screen Quota Cut
By Kim Tae-jong, Staff Reporter
2 February 2006
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.
The rally was staged by the committee and board members of the Coalition for Cultural Diversity in Moving Images last night at the building of the Korea Film Directors’ Society in Namsan, Seoul.
They claimed the screen quota reduction will severely damage the local film industry in its competition with Hollywood films.
Before the rally, they reformed their organization to take more effective actions in insisting the government reverse its decision, and discussed plans for collective action, details of which will be announced today at a 4 p.m. news conference at the building of the Korea Film Directors’ Society.
The relay rally will be joined every day by some 25 civic groups, which have supported the screen quota system, and will continue until Feb. 7. A combined street demonstration is set for Feb. 8.
The current screen quota system requires local theaters show Korean-made movies for 146 days a year, but the government recently announced it will decrease the number of days to 73, to facilitate free trade negotiations with the United States.
