Artist Hong Seong-dam explains his work "Sewol Owol," in which he depicted President Park Geun-hye as a puppet, before the Gwangju Biennale in August 2014. Following his work being rejected for the event for no clear reason at the time, Gwangju Mayor Yoon Jang-hyun finally said Monday that former Vice Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Kim Chong pressured him into banning the painting. / Yonhap



Ex-vice minister banned work from Gwangju Biennale



By Jung Min-ho

Kim Chong

When a satirical painting that portrayed President Park Geun-hye as a puppet was banned from one of Korea's largest art events for no clear reason, many angry artists and fans asked who was behind the decision. Two years later, it appears that they finally have their answer.

Speaking to reporters at Gwangju City Hall, Monday, Mayor Yoon Jang-hyun said Kim Chong, who recently resigned as vice minister of culture, sports and tourism over his involvement in the Choi Soon-sil scandal, coerced him into rejecting the painting for the 2014 Gwangju Biennale.

According to the mayor, Kim expressed concerns over the painting titled "Sewol Owol," a 10.5-meter-wide work in which the President is depicted as a puppet controlled by her father the late President Park Chung-hee as well as her then-chief of staff Kim Ki-choon.

During a phone conversation in August, 2014, the mayor said Kim threatened that government sponsorship for the event would be canceled if he didn't comply.

"I feel shame at failing to display the piece," Yoon said. "I regret that I was not brave enough to deal with the issue by going against the government."

After the controversial decision over the painting, Lee Yong-woo stepped down as president of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation in a bid to placate angry artists over what they saw as a violation of the freedom of expression.

Following the mayor's confession, Hong Seong-dam, the painter of the work and a vocal critic of President Park, urged Yoon to make a public apology, and asked if the National Intelligence Service was also involved in the decision.

After Park was elected as President in 2012, Hong came into the spotlight with a series of paintings satirizing her, including a work in which Park is portrayed as giving birth to a baby in sunglasses, an apparent reference to her father.

Kim has denied all the allegations, although the truth may be determined soon by the prosecution, which plans to summon him for questioning.

The alleged blackmailing is one of many accusations Kim faces. He is suspected of helping Choi, who allegedly exploited her friendship with President Park to benefit herself, in the sports sector.

When Choi's daughter Chung Yoo-ra was mired in controversy over receiving special favors from sports organizations in 2014, Kim actively defended her at the National Assembly's audit that year. It is also alleged that he pressured officials at the Korea Equestrian Federation, who opposed Choi's meddling in federation affairs, to quit.

Kim is under suspicion of peddling influence to force both Kim Jin-sun and Cho Yang-ho to resign as heads of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Organizing Committee.

Additionally, as a ranking official at the culture ministry, he is suspected of helping Cha Eun-taek, a close associate of Choi, win state-run projects in the culture arena.