Bills call for integrated cultural data management system

and establishment of Korea Arts Growth Promotion Institute

Rep. Hwang Hee of the Democratic Party of Korea [provided by the lawmaker's office]
Rep. Hwang Hee of the Democratic Party of Korea [provided by the lawmaker's office]

Rep. Hwang Hee of the Democratic Party of Korea (Yangcheon-gap, Seoul) said Friday he had introduced two amendment bills — to the Framework Act on Culture and the Culture and Arts Promotion Act — aimed at responding to the digital transformation of the cultural arts sector and building a sustainable foundation for K-culture's growth.

The move comes as accelerating digital transformation and intelligent informatization across industries has consistently raised calls for a national-level integrated data management framework.

According to Hwang, cultural data — spanning cultural heritage, artworks, and information on performances and exhibitions — exists in both structured and unstructured forms on a vast scale, yet a comprehensive legal basis for systematically linking and using that data has been lacking.

At the same time, some say that while K-Art has grown rapidly in global markets and drawn attention as high-value intellectual property, the Arts Management Support Center — the dedicated agency — is merely a private-law foundation under the Civil Act, limiting its ability to pursue K-Art development and retail promotion in a stable and sustained manner.

The amendment to the Framework Act on Culture would require the minister of culture, sports and tourism to establish and operate an integrated cultural data management system. It would also allow central and local governments to provide technical and fiscal support to promote the creation and use of cultural data by the private sector and to invigorate related projects.

The amendment to the Culture and Arts Promotion Act would convert the Arts Management Support Center from a private-law foundation into a statutory body called the Korea Arts Growth Promotion Institute, with the aim of building a sustainable growth base for the culture, arts and cultural industries and systematically bolstering K-Art's global competitiveness.

Hwang has previously introduced a series of residential and urban innovation policies to improve the structural health of the housing market, including equity-accumulation housing, block development, mixed-use transit development, shared-space housing, and structure-and-facility separation construction.

Some say the latest bills are part of Hwang's continuing push for policy innovation — this time to improve the structural health of the culture and arts ecosystem as a future growth engine and significantly strengthen its global competitiveness.

"In the age of digital transformation, integrated management of cultural data and the promotion of its use by the private sector are the core foundations for enhancing the effectiveness of cultural policy and creating new industries," Hwang said. "Establishing a dedicated statutory body is urgent if K-Art is to take its place as a key intellectual property that elevates national prestige and economic value." He added that the bills would "invigorate the cultural data ecosystem and, centered on the Korea Arts Growth Promotion Institute, drive the sustainable leap forward of K-Art."


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