The Korean film industry has formed a coalition of 78 film companies which have banded together to fight piracy.

The newly announced Filmmakers Council brings together member companies from the Korean Motion Picture Producers Association and the Association of Film Companies.

The council blames piracy for the downfall of the local ancillaries market and for the fact that productions must rely on theatrical releases for more than 80% of revenue.

'We plan to cooperate with established organisations to carry out various public relations campaigns to stop illegal piracy and encourage the legal use of visual media,' the council said.

The council also stated it would look into taking 'strong legal measures when necessary' in reference to online services such as webhards, person-to-person (P2P) and portal sites that infringe upon copyrights.

Although the new organisation is not the first locally to make such an announcement to date, it is arguably the largest contingent to launch itself against piracy.