SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea (EUCCK) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cultural development cooperation on Friday.

    South Korean Culture Minister Yu In-chon and Chairman of the EUCCK Jean-Marie Hurtiger signed the deal Friday morning.

    "I expect to see substantial growth in cultural and tourism exchanges between South Korea and the European Union (EU), which have been quite inactive in the past, through this agreement," Yusaid upon settling the accord.

    Following this deal, the two sides are expected to work on co-hosting a film festival during the Group of 20 financial summit that is to be held in Seoul next year, and cooperate on building joint institutes in areas involving eSports, animation, and tourism, the release said.

    The move comes as South Korea seeks to promote stronger ties between the two sides in areas such as culture, arts, and tourism and to build a foundation for better institutional structures, especially as the South Korea-EU free trade deal is expected to be ratified next year, the culture ministry said in a press release.

    Europe has the world's second largest entertainment business, taking up 35.5 percent of the world's entertainment industry, but the size of South Korea's cultural contents there remains less than 10 percent as of last year, the cultural ministry said.