Seoul Arts Center, one of the country’s biggest art complexes, will heighten its public role this year by expanding support for artists and low-income families, its new president said on Tuesday.

Mo Cheol-min, who took the top post at SAC last month, said the center located in southern Seoul will cut all venue rental fees by 5 percent and adopt a standardized seating list to prohibit production companies from raising ticket prices by assigning premium seats.

“To establish a fair system of ticket sales, SAC will urge companies to use our standardized seat grades from C, B, A, S to R so that they won’t sell other premium tickets like VVIP and P seats,” Mo told reporters at a press conference.

For some time, production companies, particularly those who bring world-class orchestras or stars to Seoul have been producing new seat grades like VVIP and P, selling them at around 400,000-500,000 won per seat.

“The R-seats will be the highest priced seats on the SAC’s list, and we will also limit the number of R-seats to around 800-900,” he said.

The center won’t stage productions of companies who refuse to follow the rules.

To strengthen support for low-income families and students, SAC will also sell stand-by tickets at 5,000 won and 10,000 won. Programs for families on weekends such as outdoor concerts and events will be introduced throughout the year, Mo said.

The new SAC president served as a vice culture minister from August 2010 to November 2011 and also as the director of the National Library of Korea between May 2009 to August 2010. Mo received a medal from the French government in 2007 for his contribution to promoting cultural exchange between the two countries. He led the Korean Culture Center in Paris from 2004 to 2007.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)