The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and the Financial Services Commission (FSC) officially kicked off the search for fund managers for the 'K-Culture Value-Up Fund' on July 22.

This K-Culture Value-Up Fund is a large-scale 150 billion won fund and a 'National Growth Fund' designed to invest in the broader domestic cultural and content industries, with a specific focus on AI-driven content and technology.

The financial structure aims to raise at least 70 billion won in private capital, based on a 50 billion won investment from the MCST and 30 billion won from the Korea Development Bank and the Advanced Strategic Industry Fund.

In the past, the MCST has been the primary architect behind various funding vehicles—such as the Mother Fund's cultural and film accounts, and the K-Content and Media Strategy Fund. However, these were often capped at around 50 billion won, which limited their ability to invest in high-budget, large-scale content production.

By roping in the Korea Development Bank and the Advanced Strategic Industry Fund for a 30 billion won contribution, the total scale of the 'K-Culture Value-Up Fund' has been expanded to 150 billion won.

The fund is bifurcated into two distinct sectors. The first is the AI and Intellectual Property (IP) sector. This 100 billion won fund targets companies that use AI to develop content or leverage IP across games, film, and music to push the K-Culture industry forward.

The second is the Content Innovation sector. This 50 billion won fund is dedicated to firms involved in the production and distribution of creative content. Both funds mandate that 15-25% of the capital be directed toward content-related projects, which is more than double the investment ratio of the Advanced Strategic Industry Fund.

This initiative represents the first time the National Growth Fund has collaborated with a government department to scale up a policy fund, effectively creating a new indirect investment track for departmental projects.

Proposals for managing the K-Culture Value-Up Fund are being accepted on August 12, between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM, with the final selection set to be announced in September. Korea Growth Investment Corp, the manager of the parent fund, will host an information session soon, and you can find the full schedule at The official website of Korea Growth Investment Corp.

Kim Gyeong-hwa, the Director General of the Cultural Industry Policy Office at the MCST, noted that this fund marks the first time the National Growth Fund has joined forces with the MCST to invest in the K-Culture industry, serving as a crucial stepping stone to propel K-Culture onto the global stage.

Son Young-chae, head of the National Growth Fund Promotion Division at the FSC, added that they plan to continue linking the Advanced Strategic Industry Fund with various departmental initiatives to scale up funding and provide the heavy-duty financial support necessary for key government projects.