A bill has been introduced in the National Assembly to extend production cost tax credits, previously applied only to some content such as broadcasting, film and webtoons, to the game and music industries.

On Monday, Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Seung-rae (조승래) said he had introduced amendments to the Restriction of Special Taxation Act, with a focus on applying tax credits to the costs of producing game and music content.

Under current law, a system offers deductions at a set rate from income tax and corporate tax for costs incurred in producing content. But support is designed mainly around video content such as broadcasting and film. Webtoons were added to the eligible categories last year, but the game and music industries, which have a high export share, remain excluded, drawing criticism from the industry.

The amendment would change the relevant provision specifying eligible tax credits from “video content” to “cultural content” and newly include games, records, music files and music videos among the eligible items.

Cho also introduced a bill with the same content last year and raised the need for tax support to the Ministry of Economy and Finance during a parliamentary audit. But in deliberations at the time, the clause was dropped and the bill was scrapped as an alternative was adopted, leaving a legislative gap.

“Games and music are key industries that are already proving South Korea’s cultural competitiveness to the world,” Cho said. “As the system remains stuck in past industrial structures, it must be converted into a tax support framework befitting export powerhouse industries.” He added, “Through passage of this amendment, I will restore a growth ladder across the broader K-content industry and contribute to securing global competitiveness for game and music content.”