What is the South Korea film tax incentive rate?

South Korea offers 25% on qualified in-state spend through the KOFIC Location Incentive (Cash Rebate). It is a cash grant. The state pays cash against qualified spend. No tax liability needed, no broker, no discount — the cleanest structure for an independent production.

What is the minimum spend for the South Korea film incentive?

KRW 400M QPE and 5+ shoot days in Korea (KRW 50M for treaty-partner co-productions). Falling under the minimum is a total loss of the benefit, not a partial one — it is worth confirming the threshold before locking a budget.

Are there city or county film incentives in South Korea?

Yes — Incheon Film Commission Location Incentive, Jeonju / Jeollabuk-do Film Commission Incentive, Busan Film Commission Production Support, Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund. Local programs generally stack on top of the state incentive but define their own qualified spend, caps and rules, so their rates can't simply be added to the state percentage.

Is the South Korea film incentive transferable or refundable?

Refundable — the excess over your state tax liability is paid out in cash.

Cash grantHuman verified· 2026-09-30Active

South Korea film tax incentive

KOFIC Location Incentive (Cash Rebate)

Headline rate

25%

Minimum spend

KRW 400M QPE and 5+ shoot days in Korea (KRW 50M for treaty-partner co-productions)

What South Korea actually pays

The state pays cash against qualified spend. No tax liability needed, no broker, no discount — the cleanest structure for an independent production.

New to the mechanics? Tax credit vs rebate vs grant and What counts as qualified spend.

What qualifies

International co-production feature films and documentaries (foreign projects also eligible at the KRW 300M cap). >5 days shooting in Korea. Min QPE KRW 400M (KRW 50M for MOU/MOA partner-country or AFAN co-productions). Main-cast labor over 30% of total labor not eligible. Note: legacy materials list TV series; current official page emphasizes feature + documentary — confirm series eligibility with KOFIC.

Documentary
Feature Film

City, county & regional programs

Local incentives that can stack on top of the state program — but each defines its own qualified spend, caps and residency rules, so their rates can't simply be added to the state percentage. Worth a call before you count on one.

Incheon Film Commission Location Incentive
Minimum spend: No fixed spend floor — eligibility is by production budget (>= KRW 20M per episode or >= KRW 200M total) plus 5+ shooting sessions in Incheon
30%–50%
Jeonju / Jeollabuk-do Film Commission Incentive
Minimum spend: Net budget KRW 1bn+ and 5 shoot days in Jeonbuk (KRW 300M–1bn and 3 days for independent features)
30%
Busan Film Commission Production Support
Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund

How to apply

Submit preliminary online application (sets provisional support amount) before filming; then final application within 2 months after completing production in Korea. Production must complete within the year. Audited expenditure statement required. Reviewed in order of acceptance, subject to remaining budget. Foreign producers apply via a Korean production company / production-service agreement; co-production tier needs a signed co-production contract.

The rule to remember

25% cash rebate on Korean spend if you apply before shooting; apply after the shoot and it drops to 15% on post-production only. Needs KRW 400M of Korean spend and more than 5 shooting days.

Film commissions in South Korea

5 public offices handle location support, permits, local crew and vendors here. Every one listed is a member of the Association of Film Commissioners International.

Common questions

What is the South Korea film tax incentive rate?: South Korea offers 25% on qualified in-state spend through the KOFIC Location Incentive (Cash Rebate). It is a cash grant. The state pays cash against qualified spend. No tax liability needed, no broker, no discount — the cleanest structure for an independent production.
What is the minimum spend for the South Korea film incentive?: KRW 400M QPE and 5+ shoot days in Korea (KRW 50M for treaty-partner co-productions). Falling under the minimum is a total loss of the benefit, not a partial one — it is worth confirming the threshold before locking a budget.
Are there city or county film incentives in South Korea?: Yes — Incheon Film Commission Location Incentive, Jeonju / Jeollabuk-do Film Commission Incentive, Busan Film Commission Production Support, Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund. Local programs generally stack on top of the state incentive but define their own qualified spend, caps and rules, so their rates can't simply be added to the state percentage.
Is the South Korea film incentive transferable or refundable?: Refundable — the excess over your state tax liability is paid out in cash.

Verify before you budget. These figures come from our own incentives database and each shows when it was last reviewed — but programs change between funding cycles and legislative sessions. Confirm with the film office, or ask us, before a number goes into a budget.

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What could South Korea be worth?

A first-pass estimate with the arithmetic shown, so you can check it rather than trust it. Switch states right here to test the same budget elsewhere, or line up to five states up side by side on the compare page.

Compare with

Programs in a similar rate band. The mechanism matters as much as the percentage — a transferable credit at 30% is not the same money as a cash grant at 30%.

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Tracking changes to this program?

We re-verify South Korea against the film office and the statute, and write when something moves that would change a budget. One email, no cadence you didn't ask for.