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Musicians Blacklisted
South Korea is embroiled in a government scandal that has reached up to the presidency and ensnared the country’s culture minister.
Ahn Young-joon / AP Photo – Korea Scandal
Choi Soon-sil, center, the jailed confidante of impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye, shouts upon her arrival at the office of the independent counsel in Seoul, South Korea.
Cho Yoon-sun has been accused of creating a long blacklist of “left-leaning” musicians and other artists who she believes do not support the administration of President Park Geun-hye.
Cho was arrested Jan. 21 on charges of “abuse of authority and perjury,” according to various wire services. Also arrested was Park’s former chief of staff who allegedly ordered Cho to draw up the list, raising suspicions that Park herself is behind the oppression. Individuals whose names appear on the list would be excluded from receiving any government subsidies or private investments.
They would also be subject to covert surveillance. Many of the artists on the list had voiced support for opposition parties, or criticized or satirized the government in their work. Some were targeted because they expressed contempt for Park’s father, Park Chung-hee, the infamous dictator of South Korea in the ’60s and ’70s.