SEOUL – Leading South Korean production company Sidus FNH will launch its own distribution arm by the end of 2007.

First title to be released is likely to be helmer Park Yong-jip's romantic comedy "Yonguijudo Miss Shin", a co-production with Road Pictures. Two other titles which are about to start shooting, "Truck" and "Radio Days", will fill out the new lineup. Prexy Tcha Seung-jai is also said to be considering distribution of outside titles.

As Korea's most prolific production house, releasing anywhere from 6-12 titles per year, the new distribution operation is expected to be an influential player from the get-go. Previously, Sidus pics were released by market leaders CJ Entertainment and Showbox.

Talks with another major distributor to set up a joint distribution operation reportedly fell through in early 2007.

Sidus is part owned by major telco KTH, which has assembled multiple investment funds to be used for production of new titles. One factor that reportedly pushed Sidus into its decision is the lack of funding currently available from partial investors, making the company less able to pay out the standard 8-10% distribution fee.

The long-rumored development will add yet another player to a sector that has seen considerable upheaval this year. In June, rival producer Chungeorahm announced it was re-launching its long dormant distribution division in partnership with investor M&FC. Major telco SK Telecom is also said to prepping a distribution operation for 2008.

Meanwhile restructuring at Showbox, one of Korea's top two distributors, is expected to open up room for other distributors to advance. On July 17 parent company Mediaplex sold exhibition arm Megabox to a consortium of foreign investors, and the group's content division is rumored to be planning a tie-up with sister company OCN, a leading player in the cable industry.

© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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