스크린 독과점 해소를 위한 영화산업 규제체계의 모색 - 프랑스 모델을 중심으로 -

Recently, in the Korean film industry, there is a problem of screen monopoly that the films distributed by large distributors or by theaters-affiliated distributors occupy most of the screens and deprive consumers of the choice of films. When looking at the film industry as the cultural industry, a screen monopoly is a serious problem because it hinders the possibility that various films made by small and medium producers are blocked. In addition, a screen monopoly is also a problem in terms of competition law when theaters in monopolistic status often discriminate in favor of their own specific films supplied by their affiliated distributors. Since 2011, the film industry-related businesses have signed a Voluntary Restraint Arrangement to deal with a screen monopoly, but it has the limitation that it is unenforceable. In addition, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) imposed fines on the screen monopoly caused by discriminating in favor of their own films in 2015 due to discriminatory treatment under the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act. However, the Seoul High Court and the Supreme Court judged that the demand forecast among film theaters are so different that their favorable treatment is not an unfair practice under the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act. However, in the film industry, new demands can be created as a result of allocating many screens to certain films. Therefore, in order to regulate a screen monopoly and protect film diversity, it is necessary to grant the film industry the regulated industry status, and allow industry-specific regulations that replace the market function to realize the public interest. In particular, by referring to the regulation system of the French Film & Animation Code which recognizes films as a "public service", it needs to adopt a regulation to limit the rate of simultaneous screening of a same film in the system of 「Act on Promotion of the Motion Pictures and Video Products」and adopt a method to make a voluntary regulation arrangement enforceable.