The Ministry of Culture and Tourism plans to scale down the screen quota system under which local movie theaters are obliged to fill 40 percent of their programs with domestically produced films.

Culture and Tourism Minister Lee Chang-dong conveyed the government's screen quota reduction plan to officials of the nation's motion picture industry at their meeting on Friday.

Lee said that it is time to consider the reduction in the screen quota "for the future of the local film industry."

The position is seen as a major turnaround for the movie director-turned minister, as he has been a longtime strong advocate of the protective measure.

The screen quota system has been in place to protect the domestic motion picture industry from foreign competition, mostly from the United States.

The United States has been demanding that the screen quota for Korean films be initially lowered to 20 percent and eventually scrapped as a precondition for signing a bilateral investment treaty with South Korea.