SEOUL --  Universal Pictures International (UPI) has announced the closure of the South Korean branch of UIP, effective December 31.
  The office will be replaced by a new branch of Universal Pictures Int'l, which will distribute Universal's slate of pictures and other local acquisitions from January 1.
    An announcement regarding the distribution of Paramount product in Korea is expected later this week. Industry sources expect Par to unveil an alliance with local major CJ Entertainment that will likely also handle Dreamworks' titles in Korea.

    UPI's establishment of its own operation in Korea follows similar initiatives in Germany, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, and Russia."We are very excited to now have our own presence in the Korean market, which continues to grow from strength to strength," Universal prexy David Kosse said.  "This is a new era for Universal Pictures and we are proud of the team members of UIP Korea, who will now be able to dedicate themselves to Universal films with much greater focus".
  Move underlines the growing importance of the Korean theatrical market, which by some measures is now the world's fifth or sixth largest.

  Go-it-alone strategy by Universal also reps a change of tack for UIP in Asia. While the 30 year-old joint venture between Universal and Paramount is being dismantled in many parts of the world, the studio partners confirmed in December last year that the combo would be kept intact until at least 2008. However in May this year Universal decided to independently partner up with a local distribnber, Edko, in Hong Kong.