Gyeonggi Province disputes Kim Min-seok's criticism over film festival funding

Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok has criticized Gyeonggi Province for reducing support for the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, describing the move as a “breach of contract” and a failure of public responsibility.

Gyeonggi Province has countered these claims by highlighting the festival's heavy reliance on provincial funds. According to provincial data, 3.1 billion KRW of the festival's 4 billion KRW total budget—approximately 77.5%—comes from the province, while self-generated revenue accounts for only 2.8%. The province noted that its support for this single festival is nearly three times the total budget Seoul provides for 15 different film festivals.

In a separate engagement, Kim Min-seok visited Gwangju to meet with young independent filmmakers. During the meeting, he emphasized the importance of cultural environments and living conditions in regional areas, noting that cultural infrastructure is essential for retaining talent as industries like AI and semiconductors expand in southern regions.