Busan International Film Festival’s Executive Director Accused Of Sexual Assault

According to a report by Ilgan Sports on May 31, a victim, “A,” has come forward claiming that she has been sexually harassed and molested for years by Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) executive director Huh Moon Young. “A” voluntarily came to Ilgan Sports to offer her detailed accounts of the damages.

| Yonhap News

“A” recently filed a complaint with the Korean Film Gender Equality Center “DeunDeun” and also received legal counseling on this matter. She has worked at the Busan International Film Festival for a long time and got the chance to work closely with Huh in recent years. She revealed that Huh would often ask her out, saying, “Let’s eat together” or “Let’s have a drink together,” and though she initially refused, eventually “A” had to surrender in fear of her actions appearing as retaliation against her superiors.

During those meetings, “A” claimed that Huh would constantly make inappropriate comments, crack sexual jokes, or gossip about other colleagues’ private life.

There was an incident where he said, ‘I’m so jealous of that director’ while discussing their personal love life. There was a female employee present there who had braces at that time, and he said to her, ‘I’m really curious about this, but how do you kiss your boyfriend while wearing beaces? How does it feel to kiss with braces on?’

—”A” describing Huh’s inappropriate remarks

“A” shared that, though at that time, she let these comments slide, trying not to hurt a senior’s feelings, she now regrets not speaking up. Another colleague, “B,” who was also present there, said she automatically laughed and moved on, but the shock came the next day when the colleagues all talked about what happened. “B” also expressed her regrets about not being able to speak up when it happened. “A” further claimed that during the final preparations for the film festival around September 2021 (during the COVID-19 pandemic), Huh would approach her at work without a mask, face red, after drinking wine in his office.

In another incident, “A” recalled when Huh repeatedly asked her to show him her back view. She was shocked at this request and wouldn’t comply without knowing the reason why. So, Huh boldly answered that he had to see her back because the festival’s poster that year was supposed to feature a model’s back in it. It became clear that Huh was basically trying to gape at her body under this excuse. On days she wore a tight pencil skirt, Huh allegedly stared at her legs for long, calling her “pretty.” He once stared at her legs and then told her she was “his style.”

The poster for BIFF 2022 | biff.kr

There have also allegedly been instances of Huh making unwanted physical contact with “A.” She disclosed that he touched her shoulder out of nowhere while she was doing some outdoor work during the film festival last year. He had asked her to work on the lawn on the Busan Cinema Center’s fourth floor and tried to hug her. Embarrassed, “A” ran away to the office. But she claims Huh followed her to the office and hugged her with even more force. She was sitting on a chair at that moment, and he hugged her entire upper body while standing, making it impossible for her to run away.

Huh with Hong Kong actor Tony Leung | isplus.com

“A” revealed that multiple of her colleagues were aware of Huh’s behavior, and some had even warned her to avoid him as much as possible. She said, “Whether he claims that he doesn’t remember, or that the physical contact was just a superior congratulating his junior, or that he was just trying to be friendly, every one of those moments was disgusting and chilling for me.” The colleague “C,” who warned “A” about Huh, shared with Ilgan Sports that she heard about the things “A” went through at the time they happened.

Because he was the director, we couldn’t tell anybody, and the only thing we could do was warn each other.

—Colleague “C”

A staff member also confronted Huh about his remarks, but though she looked up to their courage, she couldn’t speak up then. The reason why she is speaking up now, “A” explained, was not for any personal compensation but to stop such incidents from happening to other staff members.

The film festival office has more female employees than male. If Huh returns to the film festival, I want to warn all the female staff members to not be alone with him and to avoid dinners with drinking involved.

—”A”

In response to these allegations, Chairman Huh told Ilgan Sports that he was dumbfounded by the accusations and claimed that he has never made any physical contact with “A.” He claimed, “‘A’ shared stories about various situations, but both ‘A’ and I could be mistaken while recalling those memories. We can have our differences about what was said.” Regarding the braces incident, he said, “I wish that our memories of the braces story would be aligned.” He denied ever being jealous or saying he was jealous of the unnamed director’s love life. He said, “I would never say I’m jealous like that. I don’t know how to take responsibility for someone else hearing or perceiving it in a different way.”

Though Huh suddenly resigned from his post earlier this month, he claimed it had nothing to do with these accusations.

I made the decision that it was impossible for me to continue performing my duties due to the exhaustion of my mental and physical capabilities.

—Huh Moon Young