Director Park Chan-wook speaks during a press event for HBO's original series "The Sympathizer" at Megabox COEX in Gangnam, Seoul, on April 18. Newsis

Director Park Chan-wook has spoken out on the political turmoil surrounding martial law and the push for President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment, emphasizing the need for action in a Dec. 8 phone interview with MBC's investigative reporting program, "Straight."

Park said, "With the impeachment vote approaching, I believe it is crucial to have as many participants as possible to pressure People Power Party lawmakers (to take part in the vote on Yoon's impeachment.)"

The statement comes after Park, along with 599 other directors and 3,007 film professionals from 81 organizations, issued a statement on Sunday under the banner of "Filmmakers demanding Yoon Suk Yeol's resignation." The statement, "Arrest and remove Yoon Suk Yeol, a perpetrator of rebellion," calls for urgent action.

Organizations participating include the Association of Korean Independent Film & Video, Women in Film Korea, the Producers Guild of Korea (PGK), the Korean Film Producers Association and the Directors Guild of Korea (DGK). The statement also features prominent filmmakers, such as Bong Joon-ho, Jang Joon-hwan, Min Yong-keun, Yoon Ga-eun, and Lim Dae-hyung.

A total of 239 actors, including Go Min-si, Moon So-ri and Cho Hyun-chul, have signed a statement calling for the president's resignation.

Go, known for her role in the KBS drama “Youth of May,” set in Gwangju in May 1980, has consistently paid tributes to the May 18 democratic uprising in Gwangju on social media.

Moon, a vocal advocate for political causes, made a cameo appearance in the film “1987,” which portrays Korea's democratization movement. Meanwhile, actor and director Cho earned praise for addressing the 2014 Sewol ferry tragedy with sensitivity and ethical depth in his directorial debut, “The Dream Songs” (2022).

Reports that actors such as Son Ye-jin, Gang Dong-won, Jun Ji-hyun, Kim Go-eun, Park Eun-bin and Jeon Do-yeon had joined the statement were clarified as mistaken.

The filmmakers' group explained, "Names of individuals with the same name, such as production crew members, audience members and students, were included, leading to misunderstandings. Please ensure that names of directors and actors with identical names are not misreported."

From left, actors Moon So-ri, Go Min-si and Cho Hyun-chul

The statement criticizes current events, saying, "Occurrences that defy basic humanistic reasoning and would be dismissed as delusions even with cinematic imagination are happening in reality."

It further asserts that President Yoon is "the greatest threat to the survival of the Republic of Korea," emphasizing his resignation as an urgent priority to safeguard the democratic republic.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.