Action movie director helps sacked Ssangyong workers
Ryoo Seung-wan, second from right, directs movie "Veteran" (2015). / Courtesy of CJ E&M
Action movie director Ryoo Seung-wan secretly helped former blue-collar employees of Ssangyong Motors with money and food, a media report claims.
Last December, Ryoo, 42, donated an unknown amount to the workers and their families, according to Sports Dong A. Around the same time, he also drove a free food-car to a psychiatric clinic in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, which helps treat workers and their families.
Since 2009, the workers have been staging protests, claiming they were unfairly sacked. The protests have drawn public support and criticism.
A scene from movie "The City of Violence" (2006), which he directed and starred in.
Ryoo’s charity work is notably similar to the male lead in his latest movie “Veteran” (2015), in which an ethically upright detective fights against a major conglomerate’s evil third-generation son who tries to get away with murdering an innocent laborer.
Last October, Ryoo set up a charity with fellow entertainers, including show host Kim Jae-dong, singer Lee Seung-hwan and online cartoonist Kang Full.
Ryoo also has a popular younger brother, actor Ryoo Seung-bum