Artist support project receiving 8 billion won spent on weddings attendance and restaurant tours

[Anchor]

Every year, 8 billion won of national funds are invested in a project that supports artists' living expenses when they collaborate with companies or institutions.

However, it has been revealed that activities unrelated to art, such as attending weddings and visiting restaurants, have also been recognized as work, raising concerns about poor management.

Park Kyung-jun reports.

[Report]

A YouTube video produced by a startup.

It was created through the artist dispatch support project.

["Let's get it out with brushing. Spit."]

It is about the placement of patches and how to use dental floss.

One artist listed attending a colleague's wedding as part of their activities, and another artist submitted a photo showing a bottle of alcohol.

Reports of dining with other artists at famous restaurants are no different from restaurant reviews on delivery apps.

All of these are activities under the artist dispatch support project funded by the Korean Artists Welfare Foundation.

This project supports artists who find it difficult to make a living solely from their main work by providing job roles based on collaboration with companies or institutions for six months, receiving activity fees ranging from 7 to 9 million won.

The total of 8 billion won was fully funded annually by the national treasury, with over 3,400 applicants last year and about 800 selected, indicating high competition.

These activity reports were approved without any sanctions, and all activity fees were paid out.

[Korean Artists Welfare Foundation official/Voice Altered: "(This project) is selected based on ideas, and it is not a project that presents tasks to be done like a service contract."]

However, there are criticisms that this project, funded by taxes, deviates from its original purpose.

[Kim Seung-soo/Member of the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee/People Power Party: "Since this is a project aimed at promoting creative activities, I believe there needs to be some systematic management regarding activities unrelated to the project's purpose, such as food tours or travel reviews."]

The foundation stated, "There were shortcomings in report management as we focused on actual activities," and promised to correct any wrongdoings.

KBS News, Park Kyung-jun.