Film Industry Solidarity Opposes Reappointment of Korean Film Council Secretary-General... Demands Chairman's Resignation

Strong Condemnation of Undermining Public-Private Cooperative Governance
"Secretary-General Must Be Appointed Through Transparent Public Recruitment"

Film industry professionals have criticized the Korean Film Council for its opaque and biased management, demanding the resignation of Chairman Han Sangjun.

Korean Film Council
Photo by Asia Economy DB

The Film Industry Solidarity for Overcoming Crisis, which consists of the Producers Guild of Korea (PGK), the Cinematographers Guild of Korea (CGK), and the Korean Film Producers Association, issued a statement on June 2, declaring, "We strongly condemn the Korean Film Council for severing communication, causing distrust within the film industry, and undermining the public-private cooperative governance."

The catalyst was the agenda item regarding the extension of Secretary-General Park Deokho's term, which was presented at the Council's meeting on May 30. Since his appointment in June last year, Park has been a controversial figure due to disciplinary actions related to the blacklist incident in the arts and culture sector. During his tenure, he has also drawn criticism from film professionals for forcibly interpreting and amending the articles of association and internal regulations to push through disciplinary procedures against Council members, as well as for neglecting support for projects such as the Seoul Independent Film Festival and the Korean Film Gender Equality Center Deundeun.

The Solidarity stated, "Positions such as Secretary-General of the Korean Film Council and Head of the Center for Fair Environment must be filled by individuals who have a deep understanding of the film industry and can communicate with its members. These appointments must be made through open and transparent procedures." They unanimously called for these positions to be filled fairly through transparent public recruitment. The group also demanded that Chairman Han take responsibility for causing distrust and undermining public-private governance by resigning immediately.