South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT said on Saturday it held an "investment attraction showcase" on June 19 to 20 at the Paradise Hotel in Busan as a side event to the 2026 Korea International Streaming Festival. It was a venue for companies with media technology and content planning proposals to introduce their businesses to domestic and overseas investors.

The contest was split into a media tech category and an outstanding proposal category. The media tech category targeted small and medium-sized companies and mid-sized firms with technologies such as AI services, virtual production and localisation. The outstanding proposal category targeted copyright-holding companies seeking distribution on OTT platforms.

A total of 38 companies applied this year, including 23 in media tech and 15 in outstanding proposals, up from the previous year. After competition by category, 10 media tech companies and nine outstanding proposal companies earned the chance to present on site.

The event organiser, the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA), differentiated evaluation criteria by category. In the media tech category, it focused its review on overseas business execution capabilities and technological competitiveness. In the outstanding proposal category, it focused on originality of planning and commercialisation potential. Winning companies were ultimately decided by combining results from the selection evaluation and the on-site evaluation.

The ministry created a "Deputy Prime Minister's Award" for the first time this year. Westworld won in the media tech category and Takeone Company won in the outstanding proposal category. Westworld is a content production technology company specialising in visual effects and virtual production. Takeone Company presented a proposal featuring an original story and potential for global expansion.

Around 30 domestic and overseas investment firms and buyers, including Warner Bros., IMM Investment, LG Uplus and Rakuten Viki, joined the showcase for one-on-one investment consultations. A total of three investment intent agreements were concluded on site, including a letter of intent between India-based venture capital firm Samsan Ventures and Takeone Company.

The festival also operated an international streaming summit, global OTT awards and Platform Day, in addition to the investment attraction showcase.

Choi Woo-hyuk (최우혁), director general for Information Security and Network Policy at the ministry, said it would continue all-around support so that domestic digital and platform companies can lead the global media paradigm and translate it into tangible results in overseas expansion and fundraising.