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Singapore and Korea sign co-production arrangement

25 June 2007

Singapore– The Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) has entered into a co-production arrangement with the Korean Broadcasting Commission (KBC) to foster collaboration among Singaporean and Korean broadcasters and media companies. The agreement was signed June 21 by KBC Chairman Dr Cho Chang Hyun and MDA Chairman Dr Tan Chin Nam.
Approved co-productions will qualify as local content and for assistance schemes, and there will be no discriminatory restrictions on the import, distribution and exhibition of TV programmes. The agreement covers animation, dramas and documentaries, and allows new forms of broadcast and audio-visual production to be included through an exchange of letters.
It follows an MOU signed between the two parties on January 19, 2005 within the framework of the Trade in Services Agreement under the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement which is expected to be signed at the 13th ASEAN Summit in November 2007 in Singapore.
MDA's Dr Tan expects to sign media co-operation MOUs later this year with agencies including Korean Culture and Content Agency (KOCCA) and the Korea Games Development and Promotion Institute to facilitate industry collaborations in their areas, training exchanges and attendance at trade events and festivals.
Inter-government co-production arrangements have also been inked with Canada, Japan and New Zealand. The Tattooist, a co-production between Eyeworks Touchdown (New Zealand) and MediaCorp Raintree Pictures (Singapore); The Future is Wild, a 3-D animated TV series by Nelvana (Canada) and ST Electronics (Singapore); and Clang Invasion, an animated series by Decode Entertainment (Canada) and Scrawl Studios (Singapore), are among the works resulting from the arrangements. Similar agreements with Australia and Italy are expected to be signed later in the year.