Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) chairman Lee Yong-kwan has apologised over the handling of recent sexual harassment allegations that saw the resignation of festival director Huh Moonyung, who denies the claims.
“First of all, I bow my head and sincerely apologise for the [alleged] case of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace that was made known through a [press] report on May 31,” said Lee in a statement on behalf of the festival and its board today (June 15).
“We also apologise belatedly for the fact that Busan International Film Festival did not take swift action on the incident and that there was an announcement that did not fully consider the victim’s position.”
The comments were made following a recent statement from an individual known as “employee A”, who had made the initial allegations that festival director Huh had made inappropriate sexual comments and physical contact over an extended period.
In their latest statement, the employee took issue with the fact that the festival had accepted Huh’s resignation on June 2 and had previously referred to Huh’s reason for resigning as a “personal matter” in a statement on May 31 as the alleged sexual harassment had taken place in the workplace, for which BIFF is responsible.
“Employee A” demanded an apology from BIFF as well as Huh’s reinstatement as they had been preparing demands directed at the festival with the understanding Huh would still be employed by the organisation. They also put BIFF on notice of ”legal and moral responsibility” pertaining to what could be seen as secondary harassment.
In an item-by-item response with apologies for lack of consideration towards the individual amidst the distractions of moving the festival forward, Lee said the festival had looked into rescinding the acceptance of Huh’s resignation but that this was found to be illegal, according to a Supreme Court precedent.
“Busan International Film Festival will faithfully respond with internal investigations in accordance with the recommended procedures of the Center for Gender Equality in Korean Film, DeunDeun, and will prepare institutional devices to prevent this from happening again in the future,” he said.
It is the latest in a string of incidents faced by the festival over the past decade. In 2014, BIFF refused a conservative mayoral request not to screen The Truth Shall Not Sink With Sewol, a documentary critical of then-president Park Geun-hye’s administration’s mishandling of a ferry disaster in which more than 300 people died, most of them schoolchildren.
Subsequent political persecution, which resulted in prolonged festival leadership upheaval – during which time one of the festival’s founding programmers and then-deputy director Kim Ji-seok died of a heart attack in Cannes – along with the Sewol disaster itself, were part of the reason why Park was impeached in 2017, prosecuted and jailed.
BIFF has in recent years been regaining momentum, recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic with physical editions. Industry professionals whose focus is on the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) seem less distracted by the festival’s fluctuations. However, the resignations of both Huh and Lee - who declared in May that he would leave after this year’s edition - are understood to have been impacting the confidence of sponsors locally.
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