KT spurs content creation with hot Netflix drama Attorney Woo

On the heels of South Korea's successful Netflix drama "Squid Game" comes drama series “Extraordinary Attorney Woo." It has topped the streaming giant's non-English TV content in terms of hours viewed for two weeks, according to Netflix’s latest data on its Global Top 10.

The drama is also booming in Korea. Though it is aired via low-profile local TV channel ENA, the eighth episode snagged a 13.09% share of viewers nationwide on July 21, more than 13 times the number of its first episode on June 29.

The drama follows newbie attorney Woo Young-woo, who has Asperger's syndrome. She enters a top law firm boasting a high IQ, impressive memory and creative mind. In the drama, Woo struggles with everyday encounters because of how different she is. 

KT Studio Genie, Korean telecom giant KT Corp.'s subsidiary and a co-producer of the drama, is drawing attention for its content creation and marketing. “As with Extraordinary Attorney Woo, we will focus on making unique, engaging content rather than on casting stars,” a KT Studio Genie official said.         

Backed by the drama’s success, KT is ramping up its transformation as a content creator and media platform.

The telecom giant founded KT Studio Genie as an intermediate holding company in March 2021. Under the content production subsidiary are Storywiz, a web novel and webtoon platform operator; Genie Music, a music content producer and distributor; Millie’s Library, an e-book platform; and cable TV channel operators SkyTV and Media Genie.    

“We've built a robust media value chain from original intellectual properties, content planning and production and platform to distribution. Our focus this year is to make original content and distribute it through the SkyTV channel,” the official added.  

KT Studio Genie will launch 24 original dramas by 2023. It is set to air “Paper Moon,” a suspense thriller based on a Japanese drama with the same title, and “Gauss Electronics,” an office drama based on a Korean webtoon.  

SkyTV also plans to invest more than 500 billion won ($380.9 million) in content production and supply over three years, boosted by the success of reality shows like “The Iron Squad” and “I Am Solo."

EYEING DOUBLING OF SALES FROM MEDIA BUSINESS BY 2025

KT is rolling out growth strategies for its content business.

Earlier in July, KT decided to merge its mobile-oriented platform Seezn with its local rival TVing, Korean entertainment powerhouse CJ ENM Co.’s over-the-top streaming platform. KT decided on the M&A given that the existing Seezn wouldn't survive amid fierce competition with global OTTs such as Netflix and Disney+.

If merged, their service users would reach 5.6 million, making the combined entity the largest on-demand video streaming service among OTT operators in Korea. KT Studio Genie is slated to be the third-largest shareholder of the combined entity.

Prior to that, CJ ENM announced in March it would inject 100 billion won in KT Studio Genie for collaboration in the content business. The partnership includes streaming content through their mobile platforms and TV channels and embedding TVing apps in smartphones and internet protocol television (IPTV) set-top boxes that KT will sell.

KT posted 3.6 trillion won in media sales last year, 29.8% higher than 2019. KT will seek to lift it to 5 trillion won by 2025, aiming for the top spot in Korea’s media industry.

The company has focused on diversifying its business since March 2020 when current CEO Ku Hyeon-mo took office. It is accelerating its content production and media platform operation, as well as business-to-business (B2B) services that support corporate digital transformation via artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

Write to Seung-Woo Lee at leeswoo@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.