On the 23rd, the Constitutional Court decided that the Park Geun-hye administration’s’blacklist in the culture and arts world’ violated the Constitution. Previously, cultural artists who were disadvantaged by blacklist filed a constitutional petition in April 2017, and the Constitutional Court concluded that “the exercise of public power that is not allowed under the constitution”.
The Constitutional Court said, “The government must maintain neutrality and foster culture so that cultural diversity, autonomy, and creativity can be harmoniously realized, but differentiated from other artists who did not express their political views and treated them discriminately in government support.” They judged that their freedom of expression and equality were violated.
Previously, the Park Geun-hye administration created works on the subject of △Sewol ferry disaster, △to criticize the government or △to manage a list of people in the culture and art world who supported the opposition party. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which received the list from the presidential secretary’s office, blocked government funding from the cultural artists who appeared on the list. For this case, former President Kim Ki-chun and former Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Cho Yoon-sun were convicted in the first and second trials. Among the comprehensive daily newspapers on the 24th, only the Hankyoreh Seoul Shinmun, the Hankook Ilbo and the Segye Ilbo, posted this news.
On the 23rd, the Cultural Democracy Practical Solidarity, a solidarity of blacklisted cultural artists, issued a statement on the 23rd and said, “Once again, to President Moon Jae-in, the government officially recognized and apologized for the blacklist case, and prevented recurrence. And social memory, the fulfillment of a clear commitment to recovery of victims.”
They said, “The President and the National Assembly are conscious of the fact that the blacklist case is not a fault of the previous government, but a self-responsibility that succeeded to the Korean government, and confirmed that the current government is still unable to resolve it, and took a deep sense of responsibility for it. You have to reveal that you feel. He added, “The president and the National Assembly must admit that the blacklist case was a serious state crime that could not be recovered by criminal punishment against Kim Ki-chun and others.”
These are’follow-up measures to prevent the recurrence of the blacklist’ △Apology from the President △Call for blacklist damage compensation △Enactment and maintenance of laws and systems such as the Act on the Guarantee of Artists’ Rights Enactment of a special law △ A one-man protest in Gwanghwamun is demanding for improvement of the organization and system of blacklist disciplinary institutions such as the Ministry of Culture.
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