Busan International Film Festival Staff Member Indicted Without Detention for Illegal Filming of Sexual Intercourse
The Busan Cinema Center in Haeundae-gu, Busan, where the 29th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) was held last October. Photo by Yonhap News
The film industry has expressed regret after a Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) staff member was indicted without detention on charges of illegal filming of sexual intercourse.
On the 5th, the Busan District Prosecutors' Office indicted A, a man in his 40s working for the Busan Film Festival, without detention on charges of violating the Sexual Violence Punishment Act (filming using a camera, etc.). A is accused of illegally filming videos of sexual intercourse multiple times in 2023 with B, a woman in her 30s who was a short-term contract employee at the same workplace. A is known to be B’s superior.
B reported the case to the police and the Korea Film Gender Equality Center Ddeunddeun last year. The Busan Film Festival stated that it first became aware of the incident in May of last year and held a personnel committee in December of the same year, imposing a six-month suspension on A.
In 2023, a workplace sexual harassment incident involving former Executive Director Heo Mun-young occurred. At that time, the Busan Film Festival conducted preventive education including a full survey of all employees, gender equality campaigns, and advanced training.
On the 11th, Ddeunddeun issued a statement expressing "deep concern over the repeated occurrence of sexual harassment and sexual violence incidents at the Busan Film Festival." It added, "During the handling of the case, victim protection within the organization was not properly ensured, and there were situations that could be seen as shielding the perpetrator. Furthermore, the lenient disciplinary actions taken were inconsistent with previously stated positions."
Ddeunddeun pointed out issues such as ▲insufficient measures to separate the perpetrator from the workplace ▲poor response system to sexual violence incidents ▲lenient disciplinary actions regarding sexual violence cases.
According to Ddeunddeun, the perpetrator and victim were only separated in the workplace after the victim repeatedly requested additional measures, and the film festival failed to keep its promise to designate a dedicated body for handling the case. Ddeunddeun stated, "They only appointed the head of the audit team as a grievance counselor, and when the audit team head resigned leaving the position vacant, the office took over the duties, leaving the fairness and neutrality of the case handling process at risk."
Additionally, the Busan Film Festival reported the perpetrator’s address to investigative authorities as the address of the person in charge of the reported case instead of the perpetrator’s actual address. Ddeunddeun criticized this, saying, "It undermined trust in neutral and fair handling of the matter."
Pointing out that proper punishment for the perpetrator was not carried out, Ddeunddeun said, "During the reconsideration process, the personnel committee judged that the perpetrator’s illegal filming did not constitute an act harmful to the public interest and reduced the punishment from dismissal to a six-month suspension citing commendation, which was a lenient disciplinary action."
Ddeunddeun expressed "deep concern over the repeated occurrence of sexual harassment and sexual violence incidents at the Busan Film Festival" and urged the establishment of a system for prevention and response to sexual violence. It also stated, "We hope that even now, the shortcomings in handling this case will be reviewed, and active measures will be taken to support the recovery of victims experiencing physical and psychological difficulties."
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