By Kim Se-jeong
The rift between the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) and the authorities is deepening, with the city government asking prosecutors to investigate the head of the BIFF secretariat.
The secretariat and film industry insiders claim the investigation is retaliation against the secretariat, which pushed ahead with screening a documentary about the Sewol ferry and the government’s poor response to the disaster during last year’s festival.
According to the Busan Metropolitan Government, Tuesday, it requested the prosecution investigate Lee Yong-kwan, co-executive director of the secretariat, and two other officials, Friday, over allegations that they had mismanaged money.
The city’s move follows a request from the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), which conducted a special audit of the secretariat earlier this year. Previously, the city government, which provides more than 50 billion won for BIFF, one of Asia’s biggest film festivals, conducted the audit every year.
The BAI said it discovered grave faults in the secretariat’s fundraising and transactions relating to sponsorship commissions, raising suspicions that the accused might have pocketed money. It then recommended the city government request the investigation.
The BIFF secretariat denied the allegations and denounced the authorities’ move.
“It is an act of retaliation by the government,” it said in a statement.
“We made a mistake as we didn’t keep all the receipts, but this doesn’t mean that we are guilty of corruption,” said Kim Jung-yoon, the BIFF public relations manager. She also said similar mistakes have been made before, but the government’s reaction this year was exceptionally harsh.
“We think this is to push Lee to step down,” Kim said. She said city officials earlier told the secretariat that it wouldn’t take legal action if Lee stepped down voluntarily.
Titled “The Truth Shall Not Sink with the Sewol,” the documentary depicted the work of rescuers using a diving bell during the search for victims. “Diving Bell” is the film’s Korean title.
The film criticized the Coast Guard and the government for their incompetent response to the disaster which resulted in 304 deaths. Before last year’s festival, calls mounted from conservative groups for BIFF to cancel the screening, including from Busan Mayor Seo Byung-soo, a supporter of President Park Geun-hye. But the secretariat pushed ahead with the screening.