Kim Eui-suk becomes chairman of Korean Film Council

South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has named Kim Eui-suk to be the next chairman of the controversy-plagued Korean Film Council (KOFIC). The Ministry will present Kim with his certificate of appointment tomorrow (March 30) and his term will run to March 29, 2014.

Kim has been acting chairman since last November when his predecessor Cho Hee-moon was forced to resign over issues including the alleged pressuring of grant committee members. Before that, Kim was vice chairman of KOFIC, during both Cho’s abbreviated tenure and his predecessor Kang Han-sup’s. Kang also prematurely resigned in July 2009 after controversy over mismanagement of the organization.

As a director, Kim Eui-suk’s credits include the seminal 1992 film Marriage Story, often noted as the first of a string of producer-planned and driven films which started the Korean cinema renaissance of the ’90s and ’00s. He also directed films such as the period martial arts film Sword In The Moon (2003) and the drama The Great Chef (1999). Kim was educated at Chung-Ang University and the Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA).

His background also includes seven years as a professor at KAFA and five years as a member of the organization committee of the Jeonju Film Commission

The Ministry of Culture expressed the hope that Kim’s appointment would help the film industry come together to create an environment of fair competition and to globalize the Korean film industry as well as improve the treatment of film production crews, a long stagnating issue in the local industry.