Ex- director of Busan film festival Lee Yong- kwan convicted of fraud

A South Korean court on Wednesday convicted the former director of Asia’s top film festival of accounting fraud, in what critics have called a politically- motivated case that has damaged the event’s artistic independence.

Lee Yong- kwan, who headed the Busan International Film Festival ( BIFF) until February this year, was given a suspended jail sentence for making fraudulent payments amounting to 27.5 million won ($ 24,200) to a firm that brokers sponsorship deals.

The case was brought against Lee earlier this year as the prestigious annual festival was embroiled in a bitter row with State authorities over alleged political interference.

The dispute began in 2014 when the BIFF screened a controversial documentary about the Sewol ferry disaster, Diving Bell, despite angry opposition by the mayor of the host city Busan.

After it was shown, State funding for the 2015 BIFF was nearly halved and Lee, who was instrumental in getting the documentary screened, became the target of a series of probes by authorities.

Lee was forced to step down as BIFF director in February after the Busan mayor – then the chairman of the festival organizing committee – refused to renew his contract.

According to the Yonhap news agency, Lee said he would appeal Wednesday’s verdict, which an umbrella group of South Korean filmmakers criticized as unfair.

“We had expected the court to exonerate Lee given that the charges against him were evidently a political crackdown to tame the festival,” the group said in a joint statement.

“We will work together to restore Lee’s reputation that has been hurt... in this political revenge.”