A late show on local broadcaster SBS revealed Tuesday night the past of former music video director Cha Eun-taek, who appeared at a National Assembly hearing Wednesday.
Cha is known to be a close friend of Choi Soon-sil who was arrested for her meddling in state affairs as a close confidant of President Park Geun-hye.
The entertainment program "Serious Entertainment at Midnight" revealed Cha was categorized as a "secured guest" at Cheong Wa Dae and the program traced Cha's career history and public activities. It noted Cha’s career started to decline as musical tastes in Korea drifted towards "idol" boy and girl groups. In 2007, Cha, who had once been a popular music video director, attempted to direct a theatrical play instead of a music video but faced severe criticism from critics for making a "60-minute music video."
The program also mentioned Cha created a musical called "One Day" which closed just one day after its opening despite receiving 180 million won in government support. President Park had watched this musical on Aug. 27, 2014, on the government-designated Culture Day which falls on the last Wednesday of every month.
The TV show featured an interview with an actor from the musical who said, "I didn't know the musical would close in just one day when we held a presentation in which we announced we would officially be running it."
The program recorded a viewer rating of 5.5 percent according to Nielson Korea.