S. Korea ex-culture minister charged over artist blacklist
SEOUL: A former South Korean culture minister was formally charged yesterday for creating a “blacklist” of nearly 10,000 artists who had voiced criticism of nowimpeached President Park GeunHye, prosecutors said.
Cho Yoon- Sun, 50, is accused of secretly compiling the vast list to starve the artists – among them filmmakers, authors, painters and more – of state subsidies and private funding and to put them under state surveillance.
Kim Ki-Choon, a powerful former chief of staff for the conservative president, was also indicted for spearheading the creation and enforcement of the blacklist.
Both officials were arrested last month and were charged yesterday with abuse of power and coercion, said a team of special prosecutors probing a wider scandal over Park.
“They abused their power to force officials ... to stop offering subsidies to artists and cultural organisations that had different views from the government,” senior prosecutor Lee Kyu- Chul told reporters.
Two of the impeached president’s former aides were also charged, and prosecutors named Park herself as an accomplice in the creation of the list, although she says she was not aware of its existence.
Park is accused of letting a secret confidante with a questionable background, Choi Soon-Sil, handle state affairs including senior nominations.
She was impeached by parliament in December and the constitutional court is currently considering whether to uphold the impeachment. Prosecutors intend to question Park soon over multiple accusations including her potential role in helping Choi extract tens of millions of dollars from local businesses. — AFP