"AI will be an opportunity for the entertainment industry"
Actor Lee Jung-jae presented the growth vision of the entertainment technology industry at the KAIST forum, demonstrating his expertise as an actor-turned-entertainment entrepreneur.
The 9th 'Innovate Korea 2025' was held on the 9th at the KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) Ryu Geun-cheol Sports Complex under the theme 'Tech Up the Party!'.
On this day, more than 20,000 pre-registered participants gathered, including actor Lee Jung-jae and representative Hwang Gyeong-ju, who is serving as a director at Artist Company, which encompasses drama and film production and actor management, to discuss the growth potential resulting from the combination of science, technology, and the entertainment industry.
On this day, Lee Jung-jae was asked about the duality of crisis and opportunity in the integration of AI, which has emerged as a hot topic globally, and the film industry. Lee Jung-jae noted, "I feel the emergence of AI in the field, and I see it as an opportunity," adding, "If we see AI not as an automation tool but as a partner that expands the creator's imagination, then the question of what stories to convey among the countless possibilities created by AI is still our responsibility, and the emotion is created by people, not algorithms."
Artist Company announced last January that it signed a business agreement with global AI startup Perplexity to actively promote new AI business focused on the domestic B2B market. Perplexity is a leading corporation that recognized its corporate value at $9 billion (about 13 trillion won) after securing large-scale investments from companies like Nvidia and SoftBank following the launch of its AI search engine service in 2022. Artist Company has also laid the foundation as a tech corporation by operating an advertising platform that utilizes big data and AI, raising expectations for a positive direction in the utilization of AI in the production sector.
Lee Jung-jae continued, "As an actor, I still want to meet audiences with new stories and good works to enhance the value of K-content, and as a manager, I desire to connect technology and content to create a new ecosystem," adding, "I want to grow Artist Company into a global entertainment tech corporation with an AI-based fandom platform and interactive content, and to be remembered in ten years as someone who connected technology and content to create a new success myth."
Meanwhile, Artist Company held its regular shareholders' meeting on the 28th of last month and decided to change its name from Artist United to Artist Company. This decision was backed by the management's philosophy to strengthen the content-centric brand identity and accelerate its entry into the global market. Through this, Artist Company plans to actively unfold its corporate identity and business direction based on the trust and know-how built by managing more than 20 prominent actors, including Lee Jung-jae and Jung Woo-sung, and producing films like 'Hunt' and dramas such as 'The Silent Sea.'
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]