The South Korean government Sunday said it will spend 3 billion won ($2.6 million) to support publishers related to Song-In Books, as part of measures to minimize the fallout from the bankruptcy of the country’s No. 2 book distributor.

Song-In Books filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 3, sparking concerns over the possible impact on the some 2,000 smaller publishers that it had ongoing business deals with. The direct financial loss, such as nonpayment, is estimated to be around 30 billion won.

As part of the new plans, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said it will pump 2 billion won into helping pay for writers’ fees and the costs of design and editing, to ensure the affected companies continue publishing books. The financial support amounts to 8 million won for each book title.

The ministry said it will also buy 1 billion won worth of books from the publishing companies to compensate for their lost sales with Song-In Books. The publishers will have priority in the government’s book acquisition projects, such as for military barracks and for promoting Korean books overseas.

In addition, the ministry has created a task force on a 50 million won budget to track the damage caused by Song-In Books’ bankruptcy and other repercussions.

On Jan. 6, the government announced plans to grant 5 billion won in emergency loans with a 1 percent interest rate to publishers hit by the bankruptcy of Song-In Books.


By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)