The Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-Sure) said Friday it will provide a total of $125 million (about 192 billion won) in financial support to the overseas units of K-culture companies CJ ENM and Kolmar Korea.
K-Sure first decided to provide $100 million in working capital to the U.S. unit of content company CJ ENM. CJ ENM's U.S. unit is the parent company of Fifth Season, which produces premium content. "CJ ENM's U.S. unit produces and supplies a variety of content including dramas, films and documentaries, and has been leading the settlement of K-content in the North American market," K-Sure said. "Through this support, we expect to accelerate the global expansion of K-content."
K-Sure also decided to provide about $25 million in financial support to the U.S. unit of Kolmar Korea, a global cosmetics original development manufacturing (ODM) company. The actual support will be executed after all procedures are completed. "Kolmar Korea's U.S. unit is pursuing the global expansion of its K-beauty production base and the full-scale launch of its North American business," a K-Sure official said. "We highly valued Kolmar Korea's technological capabilities and growth potential, and decided on special support."
K-Sure added, "This support is significant in that mid- to long-term financial support, which has centered on traditional heavy industries such as plants, has expanded in scope to soft power industries such as content and beauty." Jang Young-jin, president of K-Sure, stressed, "K-culture is a key strategic industry that raises the brand value of Korea. We will continue to spare no effort in supporting our companies to secure competitiveness in the global market."
Meanwhile, exports of K-beauty and content continue to expand. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, cosmetics exports last month surged 42.5% from a year earlier to $1.34 billion. The increase was driven by rising preference for K-beauty, centered on basic cosmetics and beauty devices. As a result, cosmetics exports in the first half of this year reached $7 billion, up 27.2% from the first half of last year, setting a new record high. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, K-content exports last year reached an all-time high of $14.9 billion, up 5.7% from the previous year.
