Five former presidential and government officials sent to jail over cultural blacklist

By Lim Chang-won Posted : July 27, 2017, 18:04 Updated : July 27, 2017, 18:04

Former president official Kim Ki-choon (L) and ex-culture minister Cho Yoon-sun (R) [Yonhap News Photo]


Five former presidential aides and government officials received prison sentences of up to three years for their role in creating and managing in blacklisting artists and cultural figures regarded by the conservative government of South Korea's jailed ex-president as anti-government.

Ex-president Park Geun-hye is on trial on multiple charges. She was accused of playing a role in blacklisting outspoken figures to prohibit government agencies from providing financial support to them.

Park's aides and former government officials were indicted for creating and managing the list that allegedly included famous movie director Park Chan-wook, who won the grand prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004, and Ko Un, a poet and routine candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

On Thursday, Kim Ki-choon who served as Park's chief aide was given a three-year jail sentence. Four others including a former culture minister were given jail terms ranging from 18 months to two years.

Cho Yoon-sun, who served as culture minister when Park was ousted, received a suspended prison sentence after she was found guilty of making a false testimony in parliament.

Her lawyers promised to appeal, insisting Cho was innocent because she had never seen any documents related to the blacklist. Cho, who was once seen as one of South Korea's most successful and envied career women, was released from detention for six months.
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