Busan Film Festival Admits Workplace Sexual Harassment After 7 Months... Heo Mun-yeong Says "Not Intentional"

"Apologize and Pledge to Improve Organizational Culture"

The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) officially apologized for the sexual violence incident involving former executive committee chairman Heo Mun-young that surfaced last year. This comes about seven months after the case was reported.

On the 19th, BIFF issued an official statement titled "Position on the Results of the Workplace Sexual Harassment Incident at the Busan International Film Festival," promising to improve organizational culture.

Former Busan Film Festival Executive Director Heo Mun-young
Photo by Yonhap News

The festival explained, "After learning of the occurrence of a 'workplace sexual harassment and sexual violence incident' on May 31, 2023, through media reports, we received a report on June 5 via the Korea Film Gender Equality Center Ddeunddeun. We defined this incident as a 'workplace sexual harassment incident' that occurred during the tenure of the accused at the festival and commissioned an external professional organization, the Busan Sexual Violence Counseling Center Busan Culture and Arts Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Prevention Center (hereinafter referred to as the 'Counseling Center'), to conduct an objective and professional investigation."

They continued, "The Counseling Center formed an investigative committee and a deliberation committee according to the investigation and handling procedures to conduct the fact-finding investigation and review. The investigative committee was composed of lawyers from a law firm and labor attorneys from a labor law firm; however, the accused requested a change of the investigative agency to either the law firm or labor law firm, citing concerns about professionalism and objectivity, and repeatedly refused to comply with investigation recommendations. Consequently, the investigation proceeded only with the complainant and witnesses. The complainant expressed willingness to cooperate with changing the investigative agency and re-investigation following the accused's continued refusal, but this also did not materialize due to the accused's rejection," they explained.

The festival stated, "The investigative committee judged that the incident constituted workplace sexual harassment based on the complainant's detailed and consistent testimony and the mutually consistent detailed statements of witnesses. The Busan International Film Festival was notified in December 2023 of the deliberation committee's decision that the incident constituted workplace sexual harassment and was serious." They added, "Since the incident, we have conducted a full survey of all employees, held gender equality campaigns, and provided advanced training and preventive education. We will continue to improve the organizational culture to prevent similar cases from occurring."

The festival announced that it revised its articles of association to strengthen the responsibilities and qualifications of executives to eliminate blind spots in sexual harassment prevention. Additionally, they revised regulations concerning workplace sexual harassment prevention and reporting counseling procedures; supplemented regulations including victim protection measures, prevention of secondary damage, and victim support to ensure thorough victim protection; designated related dedicated organizations for a gender-equal organizational culture and responsible incident handling; required grievance counselors to complete specialized training; and pledged to strengthen practical sexual harassment and sexual violence prevention education by executive and job level.

They concluded, "We sincerely apologize to the victim for the occurrence of this incident in a workplace that should be gender-equal and safe," and "We apologize once again for the shortcomings in victim protection and the initial investigation process."

[Photo by Yonhap News]

Regarding this, former executive committee chairman Heo Mun-young stated, "If any of my words unintentionally caused discomfort to the other party, I fully accept responsibility," but appealed, "I cannot accept the judgment that it was continuous and intentional, especially the judgment of 'intentional' regarding my inner will."

He added, "Concerned about the damage the controversy surrounding me might cause to the festival, I ultimately resigned from the executive committee chairman position and have since taken a humble time of reflection on my life, which I intend to continue for a considerable period. I apologize once again to many who were unintentionally worried."

Last year, controversy arose after allegations that former BIFF executive committee chairman Heo Mun-young sexually harassed and assaulted employee A. Heo resigned in May of that year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.