Culture Ministry to take charge of overseas promotion of Korea

53-year-old Korean Culture and Information Service to fold

Culture Minister Yu In-chon speaks during a meeting with leaders from the local travel industry at the Lotte Hotel Seoul on Thursday. (Yonhap)

The government has decided to close down the Korean Culture and Information Service, the agency tasked with promoting South Korea overseas, handing over the role to the Culture Ministry to bolster its power to oversee interagency efforts toward expanding Korea’s soft power overseas.

The move announced Thursday was largely expected, with Culture Minister Yu In-chon hinting at the change in December, two months after taking office.

At a meeting Wednesday with the heads of government bodies like national museums, libraries and arts schools who report to the culture minister, Yu said bringing the promotion arm in-house could streamline budget processes involving multiple state-run bodies that need ministry sign-offs on their projects.

“I think we will play that role very well with the new office here at the headquarters,” Yu said during the meeting. “All international exchanges should go through this office.”

The ministry expects to launch the office as early as February after hearing public input on abolishing the Korean Culture and Information Service, a ministry arm that operates Korean Cultural Centers in 34 countries.

Fifty-nine agency officials will be relocated to the new office, according to the ministry plans. The chief of the office will be under the vice culture minister.

“Besides budgeting, the problem with being an agency is that it doesn’t have the power to intervene, much less oversee, in interagency discussions involving promoting Korean culture overseas,” a senior agency official said.

“Everything stays pretty much the same except for this: We are now a part of the ministry, meaning we can chip in at every discussion and debate,” the official added, declining to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the issue.

Yu has said his term will be defined by the changes he has brought as culture minister, vowing more interagency meetings and on-site inspections to check up on progress.

By Choi Si-young(siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)