KFPA head Tcha Seung-jai, who is also head of major production house Sidus FNH, was joined by representatives from each sector of the industry - producers, investors, directors, management agents, production crews, equipment and post-production operators.
CJ Entertainment's CEO J.S. Kim and hit director Chung Yoon-chul (Marathon) were also among those present at the public declaration.
Without detailing specifics on how and when, the participants declared their intent to cooperate in the face of the current downturn in investment and sales, in what many in the Korean film industry are calling a crisis for Korean cinema.
'All our different groups have conflicting interests,' said Tcha, referring to producers who want to cut costs, and labour unions and talent managers who want to increase pay. 'But with the current crisis the industry is facing, we have agreed to compromise and work together to get through it and create a more stable, efficient and artistically creative industry.'
The declaration listed major problems facing the industry - a collapsed video/DVD market, which makes productions overly dependent on box office results; the reduced Screen Quota; steeply increasing production and marketing costs; marketing that is dependent on stars and their rising guarantee fees, and a lack of quality and creativity, as opposed to a focus on quantity and numbers.
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