Who's behind blacklist of artists?

Mo Chul-min, the South Korean Ambassador to France, enters the independent counsel team's office in southern Seoul for questioning, Thursday. Mo is suspected of being involved in the government's blacklisting of artists critical of it while he served as the presidential education and cultural affairs secretary. / Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon

By Kim Bo-eun

Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun answers reporters' questions at Seoul Station, Thursday, after a ceremony promoting the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Cho, a former presidential secretary for political affairs, is suspected of being involved in Cheong Wa Dae's creation of a blacklist of cultural figures, an alleged attempt by the Park Geun-hye administration to restrict the work of progressive artists. / Yonhap

The Park Geun-hye administration's alleged attempt to hamper the activities of artists critical of the government is stirring a major controversy.

Artists are denouncing the government for taking anachronistic measures to suppress freedom of expression, which would have been more likely decades ago under South Korea's military dictatorships.

"The government's effort to restrict artists is something that took place several decades ago, but this has been replayed in the 21st century," poet Ko Un, 83, told The Korea Times. "The foolish acts of the current administration have resulted in a huge tragedy for the country."

A group of artists held a press conference in front of the Constitutional Court in Seoul, Thursday, denouncing the Park administration and demanding officials involved in compiling the blacklist resign. They also called for an investigation into the incident.

President Park has pledged to boost the culture industry. However, the authoritarian, uncommunicative leader has done the opposite over the past four years — she allegedly sought to control artists and cultural figures using the blacklist.

The blacklist generated further dispute after former Culture Minister Yoo Jin-ryong said in an interview with a local news outlet that he saw it first in June 2014, before his term ended.

Yoo claimed the list was drawn up by Cheong Wa Dae between 2014 and 2015 and handed over to the ministry.

The independent counsel team investigating the scandal surrounding President Park and her confidant Choi believes that former presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon and then-presidential secretary for political affairs Cho Yoon-sun, who is now culture minister, were behind the list.

The list was allegedly handed over to Mo Chul-min, then-secretary of presidential education and cultural affairs, and then to the culture ministry.

Mo, currently the South Korean Ambassador to France, was summoned by the team for questioning over his involvement, Thursday.

In notes of the late former presidential secretary Kim Young-han from the latter half of 2014 to early 2015, Kim Ki-choon ordered a "fight against the leftist schemes of the culture circle," and called for him "look into the networks of left-leaning figures in the film industry."

Kim, Cho and other involved figures are maintaining their ignorance of the list.

The list is estimated to contain the names of around 9,400 cultural figures and entities deemed progressive.

This includes artists who protested the government's inept dealing with the Sewol ferry disaster or voiced support for liberal political figures such as the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's Moon Jae-in or Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon. Renowned poet Ko Un and novelist Hang Kang, whose book won the Man Booker Prize this year, are allegedly on the list.

Companies such as distributors of so-called left-leaning films or publishers of books authored by opposition lawmakers were also included.

Those on the list were reportedly excluded from government subsidies.

Government subsidies have been withheld from At 9 Film, the distributor of the 2012 film "Namyeong-dong 1985" depicting oppression of pro-democracy activists during the military dictatorship of former President Chun Doo-hwan.

Others faced different forms of disadvantage.

Painter Hong Seong-dam's artwork "Sewol Owol," which satirized President Park, was banned from the Gwangju Biennale, one of the country's largest art events, in 2014.

Gwangju Mayor Yoon Jang-hye said last month that former Vice Culture Minister Kim Chong pressured him to ban the painting, adding the government threatened to cancel its sponsorship of the event otherwise.

Earlier this month, a group of 12 cultural organizations filed a complaint with the independent counsel against Kim Ki-choon and nine other government officials for obstructing artists' rights through their abuse of power.

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