Controversy has erupted after it was belatedly revealed that a former director of the Arts Bureau at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, identified as Mr. A, who was disciplined for involvement in the blacklist scandal during the Park Geun-hye administration, has been appointed as the head of a public cultural and arts institution.
According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and cultural circles on June 24, Minister Yoo In-chon appointed Mr. A, the former Arts Bureau director, as the inaugural CEO of the National Cultural Space Foundation last month. The National Cultural Space Foundation is a non-profit foundation under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, responsible for operating national cultural and arts facilities such as the Danginri Culture Creation Development Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul, which is set to open next year.
Mr. A received a one-month suspension in October 2017 in connection with the blacklist scandal.
Danginri Culture Creation Development Center Rendering [Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism]
The news of Mr. A's appointment as CEO of the National Cultural Space Foundation immediately sparked backlash in the cultural community. On the same day, the Cultural Solidarity issued a statement demanding the withdrawal of Mr. A's appointment and calling for the enactment of a special law on the blacklist.
The Cultural Solidarity criticized Mr. A as a key executor who reported the existence of the blacklist to then-Minister Cho Yoon-sun, and argued that the return of Mr. A, who was disciplined, as the head of a public institution constitutes a clear case of secondary harm to artists who suffered due to the blacklist. The group also denounced the appointment as a typical example of a "last-minute personnel placement" carried out just one month before the 21st presidential election.
The Cultural Solidarity insisted that the government must thoroughly eradicate the legacy of the blacklist as a national crime. They called not only for the withdrawal of Mr. A's appointment, but also for a full investigation, punishment of those responsible, recovery for victims, and the enactment of a "special blacklist law" to prevent recurrence.
The Danginri Culture Creation Development Center, formerly the site of Units 4 and 5 of the Seoul Thermal Power Plant, is scheduled to reopen next year as a new complex cultural space with two underground floors and six above-ground floors.
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