À̹ÌÁö È®´ë [Photo provided by KT Corp.]
South Korea¡¯s leading telecommunications company KT Corp. signed a copyright contract with Hong Kong¡¯s Lan Kwai Fong Group to team up in animation production of popular webcomics as a part of the IT company¡¯s endeavors to strengthen soft power.
KT announced Friday that it will share its copyrights in five most popular webtoon titles published at webtoon platform KTOON with Lan Kwai Fong Group¡¯s culture and entertainment business unit.
Shares of KT ended Friday 0.37 percent higher at 26,950 won ($25.25).
KT expects the deal could be an opportunity for Korean webcomics to enter the global market including China and the U.S. riding on the experience and network of the Hong Kong-based group in producing Hollywood movies. Lan Kwai Fong famous for the founder¡¯s transition of a Hong Kong backstreet into the island¡¯s iconic party district is involved in businesses ranging from real estate development to financial investments, bars and restaurants operation and film production and distribution.
¡°The contract proves the value of the intellectual properties of our KTOON,¡± said an official from KT, adding that it will work hard to produce contents that can sell well in various countries including China and the U.S., the world¡¯s two largest contents markets. KT and Lan Kwai Fong plan to make additional license deals for other popular KTOON.
By Seo Dong-chul and Choi Mira
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]