Support System Paralyzed After Korean Film Council Switches to Competitive Bidding
Joint Press Conference on February 3: "Stop Administrative Convenience"
Korean Film Council Photo by The Asia Business Daily DB
Criticism has arisen that the protection system for victims of sexual violence in the film industry has been in a state of collapse for nine months due to the government's administratively convenient policy changes. The film community and civil society organizations have pushed back, arguing that the state's public responsibility for victim recovery has been undermined by 'market logic' prioritizing cost reduction.
On January 28, six organizations, including the Women in Film Korea and the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center, announced that they would hold a joint press conference at the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on February 3. At the event, they will urge the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Film Council to halt the 'marketization' of support services for victims of sexual violence and to restore public responsibility.
This situation arose last year when the Korean Film Council switched the method of supporting victims from a public-private partnership governance model to a competitive bidding process through the Public Procurement Service. Instead of entrusting the project to the Korean Film Gender Equality Center Deundeun, which had built up expertise over several years, the council awarded the contract to a for-profit labor law firm based on the lowest bid. The organizations pointed out that "this disregarded the core values of trust and expertise in victim support, treating it as a simple outsourcing contract," and that "as a result, the practical support system has been paralyzed."
In reality, during the past nine months since the Korean Film Council's support was suspended, the administrative vacuum has shifted the burden onto victims and private organizations. Many victims have sought help from Deundeun, rather than the for-profit law firm. In response, the nonprofit Women in Film Korea has taken on the responsibility of providing legal and medical support, filling the void left by the state.
At the press conference, the film industry plans to make it clear that victim protection cannot be subject to profit-seeking, and will strongly criticize the irresponsible administration by the relevant authorities. Their key demands include: ▲ the immediate cessation of the marketization of support services ▲ the establishment of principles of public responsibility and non-profit orientation ▲ and acceptance of a roundtable discussion as recommended by the National Assembly.
Experts from various fields will speak at the event. Sunah Kim, Chairperson of Women in Film Korea, and Jaeho Baek, Chairperson of the Association of Korean Independent Film & Video, will expose the reality of the collapse of the support system. Ran Choi, Deputy Director of the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center, and Daun Jeon, attorney-at-law, will assess the risks of marketization policy from both practical and legal perspectives. The participating organizations plan to formalize their commitment to solidarity by signing a joint work agreement to minimize gaps in victim protection.
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