Netflix CEO says $2.5 billion Korean investment won’t exploit local talent

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos pledged on Thursday that its bumper investment in South Korean content would not bypass young local talent, after calls by some lawmakers for the streaming giant to share more profits with creators.

South Korea has created some of the Californian company’s biggest shows, which have become synonymous with the broader international success of the country’s cultural exports and spurred it to announce a $2.5 billion investment in Korean content in April.

Netflix guaranteed that creators and producers were paid fairly and also nurtured young talent, said Sarandos, who also cited a report that the success of Korean content like Squid Game had created thousands of jobs.