'Soju War' to Be Released Without a Director's Name

Court Dismisses Injunction to Suspend Dismissed Director's Contract Termination
The Lamp States: "We Must Protect the Rights of New Writers"

The movie "Soju War," starring Yoo Haejin and Lee Jehoon, will be released without listing a director's name.

Movie Still Cut of "Soju War"

Production company The Lamp announced on May 28 that the Seoul District Court had dismissed all injunction requests filed by the dismissed director the previous day. Previously, The Lamp had filed a main lawsuit against the dismissed director and his co-production company, seeking confirmation of the termination of the director contract. The dismissed director requested an injunction to suspend the effect of the contract termination, but the court accepted The Lamp's arguments.

When The Lamp signed the directing contract for "Soju War" with the dismissed director, who had no previous directing experience, they received a script credited solely to the dismissed director as the writer. However, during filming, they discovered that the script was similar to one previously written by rookie writer Park Hyunwoo. The company decided to credit Park as the primary writer and demanded that the dismissed director acknowledge the wrongdoing. As the dismissed director refused to comply, a prolonged conflict ensued.

The Lamp stated, "Over the past year, we tried to resolve the issue through negotiation, but the dismissed director distributed documents containing false information within the film industry and disparaged writer Park and others, which led us to file the main lawsuit." The company added, "We aim to correct the controversy without concealing it and to protect the rights of new writers."

The court ruled in favor of The Lamp, stating, "The moral rights of writer Park, including the right of attribution, cannot be transferred by their nature. If Park is not credited as the writer in the screenplay credits, it could constitute copyright infringement." Regarding the final edited version, the court also acknowledged, "It appears that the footage was edited by someone other than the dismissed director."

As a result, "Soju War" will be released on May 30 without a director's name. The dismissed director will be credited only as "on-site director" in recognition of his contributions during filming.