[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A film company that was listed on the Park Geun-hye administration's cultural and arts 'blacklist' partially won a lawsuit seeking damages against the state in the first trial.
According to the legal community on the 27th, the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 16 (Presiding Judge Moon Seong-gwan) ruled in a lawsuit filed by independent film production and distribution company Cinemadal against the state and the Korea Film Council, seeking damages of approximately 190 million KRW, ordering "the defendants to jointly pay the plaintiff about 81.47 million KRW."
The court stated, "It is an illegal act violating the Constitution and laws that the government systematically created, distributed, and managed a list containing personal information of cultural and artistic figures, including the plaintiff, on the grounds of having political views or ideological tendencies different from those advocated by the government, excluded them from support projects, or refused the screening of certain films."
Earlier, Cinemadal claimed that it suffered damages such as not receiving support funds after being listed on the Park Geun-hye administration's cultural and arts blacklist in 2014.
During the trial, the government and the Korea Film Council admitted to creating the list and excluding applicants from support. However, they argued that "just because Cinemadal applied for support funds does not necessarily mean it would have been selected as a beneficiary."
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