Internationally renowned South Korean director Kim Ki-duk and one of his actors face multiple accusations of rape, assault and sexually predatory behaviour from three women, all actors.
The accusations were made in an investigative documentary broadcast on South Korean TV on 6 March, in which all three remained anonymous. One woman alleges that Kim and male actor Cho Jae-hyeon both raped her after Kim summoned her to his hotel room to “discuss a script”. She claimed that Kim tormented her on a nightly basis when they were filming in a remote village. “It was a living hell … so many nights, he came to my room and slammed the door or phoned me at the room repeatedly until I responded,” she told state broadcaster MBC, adding that the two men, who often work together, “shared stories of raping actresses and there was a sense of competition between them”. She had left acting and had been in therapy for years.
Kim, whose films have won prizes at Cannes, Berlin and Venice film festivals, responded to MBC via text message, “I never tried to satisfy my personal desires using my status as a film director,” and claimed he only engaged in “consensual sexual relationships”. Cho made an apology last month for earlier allegations of sexual abuse, and was removed from his college teaching post and TV medical drama The Cross. In response to the new allegations in MBC’s documentary he told the station, “I’m panicking … I am a sinner. But many of the things I see in news are so different from truth.” He added that he would discuss the matter more “once an investigation begins”.
Another female actor told how Kim demanded to see her naked during a “humiliating” audition process. A third accused Kim of assault last year after he allegedly slapped her and made her perform unscripted sex scenes while filming his 2004 film Moebius. The charge was dismissed in court last December owing to lack of evidence, but Kim was ordered to pay a fine of 5 million won (£3,382). She also claimed that Kim constantly pestered her for sex, and attempted to trap her and another actor in a hotel room, and that she was fired from the movie for refusing his advances. Last month, she launched a social media campaign against the Berlin film festival, where Kim’s film Human, Space, Time and Human played last month. The film’s Korean release has reportedly been postponed indefinitely.
Kim has been one of Korean cinema’s most successful exports over the past two decades, with movies such as 3 Iron, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter… and Spring, and Pieta, the latter two of which were selected as South Korea’s entry for the best foreign language film Oscar. His films often involve themes of sex, violence, abuse and mutilation – often directed against women. The #MeToo movement is gathering pace in South Korean and other cultural figures have also been accused of historic sexual abuse, including leading playwright Lee Youn-taek and poet Ko Un.
