Yoonhee Choi has been named CEO at Barunson E&A, the South Korean sales and production outfit that is heading to this week’s European Film Market with major international expansion ambitions.
Choi joined the company in 2021 as managing director, overseeing domestic and international operations, and was promoted to COO in April 2023. She was previously head of international sales at CJ ENM, where she worked for eight years, leading overseas distribution of films such as Parasite, The Handmaiden and The Spy Gone North.
She takes over the role from Gene Hong (Brian) Park and Kwak Sin Ae.
Barunson E&A is known for producing titles such as Bong Joon ho’s Mother and Oscar-winner Parasite as well as Kim Jee woon’s The Good, The Bad, The Weird and Cobweb. Its upcoming slate includes two features from Bong as well as projects from Ransomed director Kim Sung hoon and Concrete Utopia filmmaker Um Tae hwa.
The company has also been working to expand its global footprint since October 2022, moving into international co-production, financing and sales. It secured international sales rights to its first non-Korean film, Miss Shampoo by Giddens Ko, last year and more recently invested in Indonesian action thriller 13 Bombs and upcoming horror Respati.
In a statement today, Barunson E&A said it would “aggressively look for more projects around the world to finance and co-produce this year”.
Following her appointment, Choi said: “Barunson E&A will continue to work with the leading filmmakers in Korea, creating compelling content while our international operations actively seek opportunities to board global projects with world renowned and up and coming talent, placing no restrictions on format, genre, and language.”
At the EFM in Berlin this week, Barunson E&A will begin pre-sales of Respati; 3D animation Yumi’s Cells; adventure comedy Amazon Bullseye, starring Ryu Seung-ryong of Extreme Job; and daring comedy Forbidden Fairytale.
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