Controversy Over Power Abuse and Verbal Abuse by 'I Am Solo' PD Nam Gyu-hong... Disappears When Called to National Audit

Controversy Over Power Abuse and Verbal Abuse Against Broadcast Writer Around April
Broadcast Writer Selected as Witness by Ministry of Culture for Copyright Infringement
Unjustified Absence May Lead to National Assembly Prosecution

Nam Gyu-hong PD, who produces and directs 'I Am Solo,' has been suspected of going into hiding after being summoned as a witness for the National Assembly's audit.

On the 18th, SBS Plus and ENA's 'I Am Solo' stated, "We are confirming the situation regarding the witness summons for the National Assembly audit." Nam Gyu-hong PD is the director of 'I Am Solo' and the CEO of Chonjang Entertainment, the production company. Nam PD was summoned as a witness for the comprehensive inspection of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism scheduled for the 24th, related to a 'copyright infringement' issue involving a broadcast writer. Earlier this year in April, Nam PD was embroiled in controversies over power harassment, verbal abuse, and disparagement toward broadcast writers. In particular, Chonjang Entertainment, led by him, was reported to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for breach of written contracts and rights violations.

'I Am Solo' produced and directed by PD Nam Gyu-hong Photo by ENA, SBS Plus]

At that time, the Broadcast Writers Union, which reported Chonjang Entertainment, stated that Nam PD "failed to prepare written contracts with the writers of 'I Am Solo' and proposed contracts that deleted copyright protection clauses to writers who requested contract preparation, thereby violating the Artist Rights Protection Act." They raised concerns that the so-called 'I Am Solo' incident falls under Article 13 (Prohibition of Unfair Acts) of the Act on the Status and Rights of Artists: Clause 1 prohibits "using superior status to force unfair contract terms or activities different from contract terms on artists," and Clause 2 prohibits "refusing, delaying, or restricting appropriate profit distribution to artists."

Nam PD's witness summons was made at the request of Kang Yoo-jung, a proportional representative for culture and arts from the Democratic Party of Korea. Kang introduced her first bill, the 'Five Acts Supporting the Spread of Standard Contracts' (including the Performance Act, the Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act, the Animation Industry Promotion Act, the eSports Promotion Act, and partial amendments to the Content Industry Promotion Act). It is known that Nam PD's witness summons proceeded without opposition from either ruling or opposition parties.

During the procedural remarks at the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee's national audit held that day, Representative Kang stated, "I have heard that PD Nam Gyu-hong, who was requested as a witness on the 24th, is avoiding receiving the summons itself." He pointed out, "I tried to deliver it to the company, but the door was locked, so I left the documents in front, and eventually, this laughable situation occurred where the witness summons had to be officially delivered online."
[Photo by Yonhap News]

After hearing the news of the witness summons by phone from an administrative official of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, Nam PD reportedly replied, "I am currently filming in Jinan, Jeonbuk." When a National Assembly official said, "I will come directly to Jinan," Nam PD stopped responding to calls and messages, and all contact was cut off. The official said, "An administrative staff member visited the Chonjang Entertainment office in Seoul three times, but the office was firmly locked. With the cooperation of the telecom company, they tried to deliver the summons to the phone's registered address, but it was unrelated to Nam Gyu-hong PD." Eventually, the summons was publicly delivered online.

During the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee's audit session that day, Representative Kang stated, "I heard that Nam PD, who was summoned as a witness on the 24th, is avoiding receiving the summons altogether. We tried to deliver it to the company, but the door was locked, so we left the documents in front of it. This led to the absurd situation where the summons had to be publicly delivered online."

She added, "If Nam PD does not appear at the National Assembly audit on the 24th, I request that the case for prosecuting Nam PD be immediately brought up as an agenda item before the audit." Meanwhile, under the Act on Testimony, Inspection, and Appraisal in the National Assembly, failure to appear without justifiable reason can lead to prosecution by the National Assembly, punishable by imprisonment of up to five years or a fine between 10 million and 50 million KRW.