Culture Ministry to honor nine popular culture production staff members and one team, including the makeup director of The King's Warden

[Financial News] Song Jong-hee, makeup director for the film The King's Warden, and Kim Sang-mi, the executive producer (CP) who led the return of Korean Broadcasting System (KBS)'s Gag Concert, will receive ministerial commendations from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
According to the ministry on the 12th, the 2026 Popular Culture and Arts Production Staff Awards ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. that day at the Stanford Hotel in Mapo District, Seoul. The event was launched in 2017 by the ministry and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) to recognize the contributions of production staff, and is marking its 10th edition this year.
Since last May, the two organizations have identified 36 candidates based on nominations from members of the public and industry professionals. Following expert evaluations and a review of contributions by the ministry, they selected four recipients of ministerial commendations and five people and one team for the KOCCA President's Award.
For about 30 years, Director Song has overseen makeup and hairstyling for more than 60 productions, including films and online video service (OTT) series. Notable works include Oldboy and Decision to Leave. The cumulative audience for The King's Warden, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), stood at about 16.93 million as of the 10th of this month.
Kim spent nearly a year preparing to bring back Gag Concert, which stopped airing in June 2020. The program returned in November 2023, after just over three years. Kim's other notable works include Music Bank World Tour and Malja Show.
Martial arts director Yoo Sang-seop and stage director Lee Su-heon were also named among the ministerial commendation recipients. Yoo directed the action in the films Parasite and The Man Standing Next. Lee coordinated collaboration among the creative teams, actors and technical crews for the musicals Billy Elliot and Les Misérables.
Recipients of the KOCCA President's Award include the camera crew for Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS)'s Inkigayo, which created a cinema camera system; JTBC MediaTech executive Jeong Dong-pil, who was responsible for the stage design of Sing Again and other productions; and LiveTone CEO Choi Tae-young, who worked on the sound for the film Okja.
In the performing arts category, Plan A CEO Kim Sang-wook, Amberlin CEO Bae Jin-hee and production director Lee Jae-jin will receive the KOCCA President's Award. Kim directed BTS's world tour, while Bae was responsible for the stage video content for Lim Young-woong's concert. Lee oversaw production of the musicals Cloud Bread and Love in the Rain, among others.
The award ceremony will be attended by the winners' families and colleagues. Video interviews with production staff will also be shown at the event.
Kim Jaehyun, director of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's Culture and Media Industry Office, said, "We will spare no effort to support production staff in receiving due recognition for their expertise and being able to work in even safer and fairer environments."

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