Hundreds of 'blacklisted' artists plan to sue South Korean government
Story highlights
- Artists expected to file class-action suit Thursday
- Ex-minister, aide join three others over creation of artist "blacklist"
(CNN)Hundreds
of "blacklisted" artists purportedly critical of the administration of
the now-impeached South Korean President are fighting back, with a plan
to file a lawsuit against the embattled premier and her government.
The
Republic of Korea, President Park Guen-hye and other government
officials are to be sued, according to a statement by MINBYUN-Lawyers
for a Democratic Society, among the attorneys representing the
plaintiffs.
The
group of lawyers, whose name translated into English from Korean means
"Legal Counteraction Group for President Park Administration's Cultural,
Art industry Blacklist Crisis," has so far recruited 474 plaintiffs
from among the almost 10,000 artists on the list.
A
spokesman for the special prosecutor's office, Lee Kyu-chul, said that
the cultural ministry banned artists on this list from receiving
government funds.
The names of the
artists on the blacklist have not been made public, although a leaked
document included prominent, award-winning Korean writers.
The
statement comes a day after South Korea's special prosecutor indicted
two former members of Park's government -- former culture minister Cho
Yoon-sun and former presidential chief of staff, Kim Ki-choon -- on
charges of abuse of power, coercion, and perjury in relation to their
involvement in the drafting of the so-called blacklist.
Both
have denied all charges, according to the spokesman, Lee. Cho and Kim
will be listed as defendants in the lawsuit, the statement said.
Impeachment
After
weeks of protest, South Korea's parliament voted on December 9 to
impeach Park over improprieties related to her informal adviser and
friend, Choi Soon-Sil's role in her government. The impeachment
proceedings are expected to last through the month.
She
may be questioned by special prosecutors later this week -- the first
sitting president to be questioned in this way -- but could refuse.
Details
of the indictments were not disclosed, senior prosecutor Lee Kyu-Chul
said, as his office still needs to question Park and Choi.
"Charges
related to Park Geun-Hye and Choi Soon-Sil are included in their
indictments, but detailed instructions cannot be revealed now," Lee
said.
Cho and Kim join the former
minister's predecessor, Kim Jong-deok, who was indicted on the same
charges on January 30. Former first vice cultural minister Jung Kwan-joo
and Park's former presidential aide Shin Dong-churl have also been
indicted in relation to the so-called blacklist.
Kim's
trial is ongoing, and during hearings for Park's impeachment, he said
that this list was already existent when he came to office at the
ministry.
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