Cultural and Arts Community to Hold Press Conference Criticizing Lee Jaemyung Administration's Personnel Policy

"Recognition and Connections Prioritized Over Expertise"


Concerns Raised Over Appointments of Minister Choi Hwi-young and President Hwang Gyo-ik

On April 21 at 11:00 a.m., 65 cultural and arts organizations, including the Cultural Solidarity, along with 794 artists, will hold an emergency press conference in the plaza in front of the fountain at the Blue House, criticizing the personnel policy for public cultural and arts institutions under the Lee Jaemyung administration.

They argued, "In the Lee Jaemyung administration, in the cultural and arts sector, personnel decisions are being influenced excessively by public recognition, political interests, and personal connections rather than expertise and public interest."

The appointments in question include Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young, who previously worked in the IT industry; Jang Dong-jik, former actor and now Chair of the National Jeongdong Theater; Lee Won-jong, an actor whose candidacy for President of the Korea Creative Content Agency was discussed but ultimately failed; Park Hye-jin, who was appointed as Director of the National Opera Company despite controversy over responsibility for a stage accident; Seo Seung-man, CEO of the National Jeongdong Theater, over whom there are allegations of favoritism; and Hwang Gyo-ik, President of the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute.

The cultural and arts community criticized, "These appointees were appointed without sufficient verification of their understanding and experience in the cultural and arts field, or their ability to operate public institutions," adding, "Appointments have been made without clear standards or procedures, severely undermining trust on the ground."

The community demanded: 1) an immediate halt to unilateral personnel measures; 2) establishment and public disclosure of standards and principles for appointments in public cultural and arts institutions; 3) creation of a transparent and fair personnel system; 4) investigation by the Ministry of Personnel Management into the appointment process in the cultural and arts sector and clarification of responsibility for the resulting disruptions; and 5) a direct apology and a complete re-examination by President Lee Jaemyung.

The press conference will be moderated by Kim Jae-sang, Secretary General of the Cultural Solidarity, with speeches by Lee Won-jae, Executive Director of the Cultural Solidarity; Lee Seo-young, singer-songwriter and forest interpreter; Song Kyung-dong, Secretary General of the Writers' Association of Korea; and Chung Yong-chul, professor at Sogang University. After the press conference, they plan to deliver an official letter requesting a meeting with the Blue House.

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