On the 12th, Chairperson Kim Jong-chul of the Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) stressed the need to draw up business readjustment and improvement measures to respond to falling broadcast advertising revenue during a briefing by the Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation (KOBACO).
Through opening remarks, Commissioner Kim assessed the situation, saying, "Amid a global media war, the financial difficulties of traditional media and small-scale broadcasters are deepening."
KOBACO President Min Young-sam said, "Even in the difficult conditions of the broadcast advertising market, we will do our best to restore the market by enhancing the value of advertising and responding to the Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) policy of deregulation."
According to the share of ad spending by medium in 2024, online ad spending increased to 59%, while broadcast ad spending fell below 20% to 18.8%. Min said, "In particular, small and midsize broadcasters' ad sales have dropped by more than 60 billion won compared with 2021, and KOBACO has been posting net losses each year."
KOBACO also urged the introduction of a "cross-media rep" that would allow it to handle online and mobile advertising in addition to its broadcast advertising sales agency business.
Commissioner Kim pointed out, "KOBACO's decline rate in broadcast ad sales handled is 29.3%, higher than the overall broadcast advertising revenue decline rate of 26.5%," adding, "Given that it represents sound broadcasters such as KBS, MBC and EBS, this is a painful point."
In response, Min said, "To improve the balance of payments, legislative efforts to open new markets and easing broadcast regulations should come first," adding, "We expect management improvements through headcount cuts, discovering new businesses, and selling the training center by 2030."
KMCC Commissioner Ryu Shin-hwan requested, "Please report the reasons KOBACO received low marks for three consecutive years in the Ministry of Economy and Finance's public institution management evaluation and plans to promote government advertising agency business."
In addition, a KMCC official said discussions are underway on integrating KOBACO and the Korea Press Foundation (KPF), and Community Media Foundation Chairperson Choi Cheol-ho reported the timetable for key policies such as media education and expanding media access for people with disabilities.
The Community Media Foundation also raised the need to strengthen education to respond to deepfakes, a harmful use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The briefing was streamed live on the KMCC's official YouTube channel, and the Community Media Foundation's session was carried on tape delay.