A forum to prepare a fashion industry promotion act was held at 2 p.m. on the 2nd in Seminar Room 1 at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul.
The forum was organized under the theme "Why a fashion industry promotion act is needed now," with figures from the fashion industry in attendance, in connection with the fashion industry promotion act proposed by 13 lawmakers including Rep. Kim Jae-won of the Rebuilding Korea Party in Feb. Kim Jae-won of the Rebuilding Korea Party hosted the event, the Korea Fashion Association organized it, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), and the Korea Fashion Designers Association sponsored it.
Korea's fashion market is worth 85 trillion won annually and is emerging as a key sector of the Korean Wave alongside food, beauty, and music. However, many have assessed that fashion-related policies so far have focused on the production-centered industrial aspect, limiting efforts to develop fashion's cultural value and creativity.
The fashion industry promotion act aims to establish legal and institutional foundations to systematically foster Korea's fashion industry, support creative activities, and strengthen global competitiveness. The bill stipulates that the Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in consultation with the heads of relevant central administrative agencies, must establish and implement a basic plan for fashion industry promotion every five years.
Kim said, "Global interest in K-content has grown, but fashion has tended to be left out compared to beauty and music, and there is no appropriate legislation," adding, "The fashion industry promotion act aims to cultivate fashion as a cultural industry and a content industry, not just an apparel industry, and to establish systematic support and institutional foundations for related industries."
Sung Rae Eun, president of the Korea Fashion Association, said, "If you include related businesses in retail and services, the fashion industry is a job-creating sector linked to about 440,000 jobs," adding, "I am confident that the fashion industry promotion act being discussed today will not only lay an institutional foundation but also serve as a catalyst to accelerate the globalization of K-fashion."
Lee Jeong-min, head of Trend Lab 506, who presented on the theme "The status of K-fashion and support policies and vision," noted, "Fashion is a representative industry that can create high added value," and pointed out, "While Korea's fashion sector has not effectively capitalized on the growth of the Korean Wave, the luxury sector has been leveraging the codes of K-culture to grow."
Lee then proposed, "With the goal of fostering ▲creative talent ▲creative capital ▲a creative ecosystem, we need to identify innovative business models through collaboration across the value chain, strengthen manufacturing competitiveness, and work with platform corporations optimized for the global ecosystem."
In the ensuing discussion, with Lee Sang-bong, president of the Korea Fashion Designers Association, as moderator, Kim Hyeon-mok, Director of the popular culture industry division at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Kim Dae-young, deputy director of the textile and carbon nano division at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ko Tae-yong, head of Beyond Closet, Lee Jeong-su, professor at Ewha Womans University, and Richard Jeon, head of Ideal People, attended and discussed industry, education, copyright protection, and trade policy.
Ko said, "Current government support remains short-term and uniform," adding, "Tailored support is needed for step-by-step development of designers from newcomers to mid-career."
Richard Jeon, who runs an agency that supports the global expansion of Korean designer brands, said, "Overseas buyers assess that Korean brands have high marketability, but the reality is that trust is lacking in terms of brand scale and long-term stability," and urged, "There is a need for national-level fiscal and legal support that can mitigate overseas transaction risks and strengthen brand intellectual property (IP)."