2,781 filmmakers, including directors Park Chan-wook, Kim Sung-soo, Lee Myung-se, and Jang Hang-jun, and 51 organizations released a statement calling for the acquittal of director Jeong Yoon-seok, who recorded the ‘Western District Court Riot’.

According to the Independent Film Association on the 16th, Director Jeong Yoon-seok was indicted by the prosecution after entering the scene of the riot at the Western District Court on January 19th to record it, and the second trial for Director Jeong will be held today(the 16th)at the Western District Court.

Director Jeong is a creator who has received support from film festivals and audiences both domestically and internationally for directing numerous documentaries, including ‘Jam Docu Gangjeong’, ‘Nonfiction Diary’, ‘Night Island Pirates Seoul Fire Sea’, and ‘To the Truth’.He has recorded historical events that have left social pain over the past 20 years, including the Yongsan, Sewol, and Itaewon disasters.

The Independent Film Association argued, “At the scene of the recent Western District Court riot, Director Jeong headed to the court with a camera based on his ethical will to record the moment when the crisis of democracy became a reality, as well as his sense of responsibility as an artist.” They continued, “However, the prosecution ignored the public interest purpose of reporting and indicted Director Jeong as a participant in the Western District Court riot without considering the context of the filming.This is an example of treating an artist with a camera as a rioter, and it clearly violates the freedom of expression of the press and artists.”

Accordingly, nine film organizations collected petitions from citizens and filmmakers requesting Director Jeong’s acquittal and submitted them to the court.A total of 51 organizations, including the organization proposing the petition, and 2,781 filmmakers and citizens participated in the petition.

Among the filmmakers who participated were Park Chan-wook, Kim Sung-soo, Lee Myung-se, Jang Hang-jun, director Shin Yeon-sik, Kim Jo-kwang-soo, Min Yong-geun, Jang Geon-jae, Byun Young-joo, Buji, Lim Dae-hyung, Jeon Go-woon, Pil Gam-seong, Jo Hyun-chul, Ko Young-jae, Nabaru, Ma Min-ji, director Park Bae-il, Park Bong-nam, Baek Jae-ho, Lee Hyuk-sang, Heo Cheol-nyeong, Hwang Yoon, Park Chan-kyung, and Jin Mo-young.

In addition to these, the ‘Network for Freedom of Expression Against Hate and Censorship’, which was formed by human rights, labor, culture, and media groups, submitted a petition to the court demanding Director Jeong’s acquittal, and 169 organizations and 11,831 citizens signed the petition submitted by 21Jonet.

Also, the Busan International Film Festival, deeply aware of the seriousness of the current situation, wrote and submitted a separate petition.The Busan International Film Festival, which has invited most of Director Jung Yoon-seok’s works as official screenings, from his debut film “Non-fiction Diary” to his latest film “To the Truth,” earnestly appealed to the court to restore the director’s honor, saying, “He is a documentary director and artist with the responsibility of recording the national crisis of our time, and he can never be a member of the extreme right-wing forces that caused this unprecedented and unconstitutional violence.”


Reporter Seungmi smlee@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.