Bong Joon-ho, Former KOFIC Executive Accused of Embezzlement... Cleared of Charges

Accused of False Accusation and Defamation
Prosecutors: "No Evidence to Acknowledge the Alleged Facts"

Director Bong Joon-ho, who won four Academy Awards for the film "Parasite," is returning to Korea through Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on the 16th. / Yeongjongdo = Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-gi] It has been confirmed that director Bong Joon-ho, who raised allegations of embezzlement against officials of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) in 2016, was instead sued for false accusation and defamation but was cleared of charges by the prosecution.

According to the prosecution on the 19th, the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office decided not to indict former KOFIC Secretary-General Park Mo, who had sued director Bong and other filmmakers for false accusation, in December last year. Park appealed the decision, but it was also dismissed on the 12th of this month.

Earlier, in December 2016, director Bong, in his capacity as the representative of the Korean Film Directors' Guild, held a press conference with seven other film industry organizations accusing then KOFIC Chairman Kim Se-hoon and Secretary-General Park of embezzling KOFIC budget funds such as business expenses, and filed a criminal complaint with the prosecution for embezzlement in the course of duty.

Park was dismissed from KOFIC in December of the same year following disciplinary action, but the embezzlement case was not prosecuted in May of the following year due to insufficient evidence.

Park, who filed a lawsuit against KOFIC and received a court ruling in 2018 declaring his dismissal invalid, sued director Bong and other filmmakers last year for false accusation.

In response, director Bong's side submitted a statement to the investigative authorities explaining that "following the National Assembly audit which confirmed Park's embezzlement allegations, related film industry organizations decided to file a complaint, and as the representative of the Korean Film Directors' Guild, my name was included in the complaint."

The prosecution, while deciding not to indict director Bong and others, stated, "Considering that issues such as Park's inappropriate use of corporate credit cards were pointed out during the National Assembly audit, it cannot be seen that the suspects had the awareness of reporting false facts, and there is no basis to acknowledge the alleged facts."

Park also sued director Bong and other filmmakers for defamation, claiming that their press conference accusing him of embezzlement was false and damaged his honor. This case was handled by the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office and was also dismissed without indictment in November last year.

Meanwhile, the damages lawsuit filed by Park against director Bong and others in March last year is still ongoing.