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.
