President Kim Dae-jung
The Blue House
1 Sejong-no
Chongno-gu
Seoul
Republic of Korea
Dear President Kim,
We, a group of American film makers who seek to defend artistic freedom around the world, write to voice our grave concern about the case of Mr. Suh Joon-sik. We understand that the South Korean government is seeking to imprison Mr. Suh for five years and suspend his civil liberties for five years as a result of showing the film Red Hunt at a Human Rights Film Festival in 1997. We feel that Mr. Suh has been unfairly prosecuted for what amounts to non-violent exercise of his right to free expression.
In October 1997, Mr. Suh planned to show Red Hunt, which documents official collusion in the 1948 massacre of alleged pro-communist sympathizers on Cheju island, at the second Korean Human Rights Film Festival on the campus of Hong-ik University. After he refused to submit the film to national film censors for review, Korean authorities pressured university officials to withdraw permission for their campus to be used for film screenings. Mr. Suh went ahead and screened the film nevertheless, and was then charged with trespassing. Prosecutors also charged him with violating the National Security Law, because they said the film aided North Korea.
Mr. Suh's trial began in January 1998 but recessed the following month, at the same time Mr. Suh was released on bail. By early this year, many who had followed the case were convinced that it had been quietly dropped by the Korean government. It seemed that under your stewardship, Korea was proving to be a country where peaceful exercise of freedom of expression was no longer seen as a security threat. Imagine our disappointment, therefore, when suddenly, the case seemed to be revived and the trial resumed in June.
Mr. Suh was originally supposed to be sentenced on July 6, 1999, but the court postponed the decision at the last minute until they viewed Red Hunt. As film makers, we recognize the incredible power of film and its ability to inspire and effect positive change. To deliberately censor an art form so rich in possibilities, so potent as a tool of unheard voices, is to rob people of a possibility to improve themselves and society. A truly democratic society, rather than censoring differing viewpoints, welcomes them as opportunities for intellectual and cultural growth.
Mr. President, we have welcomed your efforts to promote human rights not only in Korea, but also throughout Asia. If Mr. Suh is found guilty, the reputation not only of Korea but of you yourself as a champion of human rights will be badly tarnished.
Sincerely,
The FilmWatch Committee:
Andrew Bergman, Jonathan Demme, Nora Ephron, Norman Jewison, Barbara Kopple, Albert Maysles, Paul Mazursky, Joan Miklin-Silver, Robert Mulligan, Hannah Pakula, Arthur Penn, Herb Ross, George Roy Hill, John Sayles, Paul Schrader, George Stevens, Jr., Oliver Stone , Larry Turman
cc: Kim Jong-koo, Minister of Justice
Kwon Young-hae, Director, Agency for National Security Planning
Hwang Yong-ba, Director, National Police Agency
Kim Joung-tae, Director, Supreme Public Prosecutors Office
Lee Hong-koo, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States
