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South Korea culture minister arrested over arts blacklist

South Korea’s culture minister Choo Yoon-sun has been arrested for allegedly creating a blacklist of left-leaning artists. The 10,000-name list includes artists who have spoken out against the impeached South Korean president Park Geun-Hye. Read more in partial below, in full via Channel News Asia.

SEOUL: South Korea’s culture minister was arrested on Saturday (Jan 21) for allegedly creating a “blacklist” of nearly 10,000 artists who voiced criticism of impeached President Park Geun-Hye, the Yonhap news agency said.

Cho Yoon-sun is accused of creating the vast catalogue to starve the artists of government subsidies and private investments and place them under state surveillance.

Its existence has sparked widespread anger, raising the spectre of Seoul’s 1960-80s army-backed rule - including under dictator Park Chung-hee, the impeached leader’s father - when the news, arts and entertainment were heavily censored.

The Seoul Central District Court issued a warrant to arrest Cho on charges of abuse of authority and perjury after a request from prosecutors, Yonhap said.

It also issued an arrest warrant for Kim Ki-choon, a powerful former chief of staff for the conservative president, accused of ordering Cho to create the list of “left-leaning” artists.

Some Korean media reports have alleged that Park asked for it to be drawn up, while others said she approved it.

*Image of Cho Yoon-sun via Variety