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| Author Kim Bong-gon Courtesy of Munhakdongne Publishing |
By Park Ji-won
Two publishers ― Munhakdongne Publishing and Changbi ― announced Tuesday that they would refund readers who purchased controversial author Kim Bong-gon's two books and take inventory of the books in bookstores to retrieve them.
The author's works have been under fire over privacy concerns, after it was alleged he shared private information and may have even disclosed people's sexual orientations without their permission.
Munhakdongne said it will recall the books "Summer, Speed" (2018) and "The 11th Young Writer Award Collection," (2020) which includes Kim's "Such Lives" from local bookstores and would refund those who already purchased them.
It added that it will republish the collection book without Kim's work which won the Young Author of the Year Award.
Changbi Publishers also said it has started to recall "Times and Mood," which includes Kim's "Such Lives," and will refund the book.
The two publishers made such decisions days after the eruption of controversy about the author. Kim was known to have used his private conversation with his acquaintances in his books without prior consent from them.
Two acquaintances of the author claimed on social media that Kim cited their private messages and smartphone chatting app texts exchanged with them in his two novels "Summer, Speed" and "Such Lives" without their consent.
A woman disclosed last week that her private conversation with Kim on a chatting app was used in his novel, claiming she is the character identified as Sister C who appears in Kim's "Such Lives"
Her bombshell disclosure was followed by a man who claimed the conversation Kim's character Young-woo had in another novel "Summer Speed" is from his actual exchange with the author. He said Kim hadn't asked for his consent to use the conversation.
On Tuesday, Kim offered an apology in a statement.
"My apologies to those who suffered because of my novels, as well as readers, publishers and fellow writers," he said. He said his careless writing has caused many to suffer.
Kim said his personal troubles hurt his credentials as a writer, so he'd like to return the Young Author of the Year Award to Munhakdongne Publishing, an offer the publisher accepted immediately.
Kim debuted in 2016 as a novelist. He came out of the closet and said he is gay. He has been gaining popularity for his semi-autobiographical books as a gay man. He is often associated with queer literature in Korea.
