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Complaint filed against culture minister for K-Arts shutdown after martial law declaration

Published: 17 Dec. 2024, 18:42

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In-chon gives a public address on Dec. 10 at the government complex in central Seoul. [NEWS1]

Civic groups filed a complaint against Culture Minister Yu In-chon for ordering the shutdown of the Korea National University of Arts (K-Arts) after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s abrupt declaration of martial law.

A coalition of 117 civic groups, including Post Blacklist, a nonprofit focusing on recovering from the aftermath of the so-called culture blacklist, held a press conference on Monday at Seodaemun Police Station, western Seoul, accusing Yu of condoning Yoon's decision to shut down the art school.

The blacklist refers to the list the Culture Ministry compiled of 342 organizations and 8,931 individuals in the arts and entertainment field from 2008 to 2015, during the conservative administrations of former presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak. The organizations and individuals were deemed to have ideas that the government disapproved of.

Yu was not present at the Cabinet meeting where martial law was decided, but the civic groups blamed him for the school being ordered to close its doors straight after martial law was declared. K-Arts is the only institute of higher education under the umbrella of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Others fall under the Ministry of Education.

“The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism abided by Yoon Suk Yeol’s unlawful martial law declaration and crippled its academic institution in compliance with Yoon’s decree,” said the coalition's spokesperson at the gathering on Monday.

“Such swift measures, effectively showing signs of compliance with the martial law, must have been executed in line with the culture minister’s decision and instruction.

The 117 organizations jointly filed a complaint against Minister Yu with the National Office of Investigation, which is run by the National Police Agency, and also blamed the authorities of K-Arts for "breaching their students’ basic rights to education."

“The authorities of the Korea National University of Arts are also accountable for breaching their students’ basic rights to education by following the orders from their higher-ups, relinquishing their responsibility to secure freedom of speech,” the spokesperson added.

President of K-Arts Kim Dae-jin previously said in a statement that the closure of the university wasn’t the school’s decision but an instruction from the Culture Ministry.

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [[email protected]]