Netflix to invest $2.5 billion in Korean content over next four years

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and Netflix Inc.‘s co-Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos [Photo by Yonhap]

Netflix Inc., a U.S. streaming service company, announced plans to invest $2.5 billion in Korean content over the next four years in a meeting between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and the company’s co-Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos.

“We sincerely welcome Netflix’s bold investment decision,” Yoon said, noting that the U.S. streaming service would invest in K-content over the next four years. “This investment will be a major opportunity for Korea’s content industry, its creators, as well as Netflix.”

Yoon arrived in Washington on Monday local time for a state visit from April 24-29 and met Sarandos as his first official engagement in the U.S.

“We were able to make this decision because of our great confidence in the Korean content industry,” said Sarandos. “And we will continue to make great stories. We were also inspired by President Yoon’s love and strong support for Korean entertainment industry. Through this investment, we will help create Korean dramas, movies and reality shows over the next four years.”

The $2.5 billion investment plan by Netflix is double the amount the company has spent in Korea since its entry in 2016.

A presidential official later told reporters in Washington that the investment decision was three months in the making. Yoon and Sarandos built trust by exchanging letters in the process and the president’s state visit to the U.S. helped Netflix quickly reach its decision, the official said.