On the 5th of June (Tuesday), the Jeonju International Film Festival (festival director : Mr. Min Byung-Lok) suddenly instructed me that I would be dismissed. Even though I asked Mr. Min and the executive committte to announce the reason of dismissal officially and clearly, they still didn’t until now. At the personal meeting on the 5th of June, Mr. Min just said to me like this : "Because of your harsh reply to the Jeonju local press at the final press conference of JIFF 2012, the Jeonju press people gang up and are now asking to fire you. I have tried to protect you... but I think you should be dismissed [for calming them down]." What on earth did I say at the final press conference ? A local journalist asked a question like this : "People said that, during the JIFF 2012, most of films are great and meaningful. But, to my knowledge, many Jeonju citizens think that there was nothing much to do except for watching movies. [...] What do you think about ?" I thought this is just a silly question. So I replied, "JIFF is literally a FILM festival not a festival where films are screened concomitantly [as a sidebar event.]"

On the 1st of June (Friday), JIFF’s executive committee secretly formed a personnel committee and they decided to dismiss me from JIFF. And then, the festival director Mr. Min gave me the dismissal notification with the only one reason I described above. After many people - including journalists, directors, and JIFF’s regular audiences etc. - asked JIFF’s executive committee to bring forward more acceptable reasons, they said "Yoo’s high-handed attitude and behaviour has seriously spoiled our festival’s harmonious unity" in their so-called ’official’ press release on the 7th of June. (Furthermore, they released this only to the Jeonju local press people excluding many other press people in Seoul and other Korean cities, because they feared that the news about my dismissal would spread widely.)

A. Now I ask JIFF’s executive committee as follows ;

1. I’m absolutely sure that I was wronfully dismissed. JIFF MUST revest me as a programmer and reestablish my impaired honor.

2. JIFF MUST reveal the recorded material of the personnel committee held on the 1st of June, and announce the reason of dismissal officially and clearly.

3. JIFF’s organizing committe MUST dismiss Mr. Min Byung-Lok, the festival director and other members who attended the secret personnel committee on the 1st of June. Until now, they have just tried to lie or hide about the reasons why I was dismissed. I’m still absolutely sure that there is no reason why I was dismissed.

Here is the list of 5 members of the secret personnel committee held on the 1st of June.

Min Byung-Lok (JIFF’s festival director)
Kim Geon (JIFF’s vice festival director)
Hong Yung-Joo (JIFF’s general manager)
Lee Yeung-Ho (CEO of the Jeonbuk Independent Film & Video Association)
Noh Hak-Gi (Head of Department, Jeonju City Government)

B. I wish many people will send me letters or statements for supporting me, after reading my explanations about the present situation. Your support will be greatly helpful for me. Please kindly send it to me as well as JIFF’s executive committee, Jeonju City Government. Here is the e-mail addresses :

Yoo Un-Seong (eye3132@gmail.com)

Jeonju IFF (gm@jiff.or.kr / webmaster@jiff.or.kr / program@jiff.or.kr / cinema@jiff.or.kr / Fax. +82 63 288 5411)
Jeonju City Government (Fax only. +82 63 281 2700)