Citizen Group Files Complaint Against Author for "Historical Distortion of Han River Novel" Remarks

"Not an Award to Proudly Remember in History," Claims
Writer Kim Gyuna Reported by Civic Group
"Shameless Act Distorting 5.18 History"

Novelist Han Kang. Photo by Joint Press Corps

Writer Kim Gyuna, who belittled novelist Han Kang's achievement as the first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature by saying "the value of the award has declined," has been reported.

Civil organization Anti-Corruption National Participation Solidarity submitted a complaint to the National Police Agency on the 21st, demanding punishment for Kim under charges of defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act. The organization claimed that Kim violated the Special Act on the May 18 Democratic Movement and the Information and Communications Network Act.

They stated, "The actions of the accused Kim Gyuna are extremely serious and shameless acts aimed at distorting the history of May 18 and dividing public opinion," adding, "The political assault and personal attacks have crossed not only the limits of freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution but also the absolute boundaries that must never be crossed as human beings." Furthermore, they explained the reason for the complaint, saying, "Maliciously spreading false facts through social networking services (SNS) with the intent to defame and incite has caused irreparable damage to the victims and bereaved families of the May 18 Democratic Movement and the Jeju 4.3 Incident, as well as countless citizens and writer Han, severely damaging their social evaluation and honor."

Writer Kim Gyuna. [Source=Writer Kim Gyuna's Facebook]

Earlier, on the 10th, Kim posted on her SNS, "While it is clear that she is a winner of the era, this is not an award to be proudly remembered in history," and "If it had to be given to someone in the East Asian region, it should have been Yan Lianke from China. If they compared the two and still chose her, then all the judges of the Hanlimwon must have been political, materialistic, or just went through the list and turned on the fan. Or was it because she is a woman?" thereby disparaging Han's Nobel Prize in Literature win.

Later, on the 15th, she said, "Due to this incident, I was cut off by my nephew who is attending Yonsei University," and added, "'He said that calling me his aunt was the biggest disgrace of his life,' and that he calculated all the pocket money he received from me and said he would donate it to the 'Oshippal' (a derogatory term belittling the May 18 Democratic Movement) and the Sasam group." She also said, "I was newly reminded that ideology is thicker than blood and could not help but feel sorrow," and mentioned the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education superintendent election, saying, "Education is so important. At least we should let our children escape from the education of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (Jeon-gyo-jo)."

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