Content industry is nation's new growth engine: PM

SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Yonhap) -- Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn vowed efforts to cultivate the local content industry Friday, saying it will serve as a new growth engine for the country in the future.

The content industry is an umbrella term encompassing publishers, broadcasters, advertisers and firms producing music, computer games, animations, movies, musicals and other creative media experiences.

"The content industry is our country's future growth engine in convergence with cultural prosperity and economy revival," Hwang said during his visit to the Creative Center for Convergence Culture in western Seoul.

Hwang further said that the industry will create more jobs for young adults as youth unemployment has become a serious social problem in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

The unemployment rate for people between the ages of 15 and 29 stood at 8 percent in August, down from 9.4 percent a month earlier and the lowest level since October last year.

"The government is making efforts to create a new leading model like the Creative Center for Convergence Culture," Hwang said.

In 2014, South Korea had the world's seventh-largest content market, accounting for 2.8 percent of the global market. The United States maintained an overwhelming No. 1 spot with a share of 32.1 percent, followed by Japan, China, Germany, Britain and France.

The center was opened in February to develop the convergence content and creative economy. The government-civilian facility allows content creators to commercialize ideas and export them to the global market.

khj@yna.co.kr
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