Director Park Chan-wook has expressed his position regarding the expulsion from the Writers Guild of America (WGA).
On the 21st, a representative from the production company Moho Film stated through OSEN, "The director served simultaneously as a writer, producer, and director on 'The Sympathy.' He was in post-production when the strike began, and there were requests for editing modifications from HBO."
He continued, "We only had discussions with the writer about the edit using the previously shot footage, and the writing of new lines took place after the end of the strike," adding, "However, the WGA deemed this as 'scriptwriting' and initiated an investigation."
Earlier, on the 9th (Korea time), the WGA announced in a statement that it had expelled Director Park Chan-wook and co-screenwriter Don McKellar from its member list for alleged violations of the 2023 strike regulations.
At that time, the WGA did not disclose specific details about the violations, but foreign media reported that writing for the HBO miniseries 'The Sympathy' during the strike was considered 'economic activity' and led to the expulsion decision.
In this regard, Moho Film explained, "Through a long hearing, both Director Park and Commissioner (Don McKellar) clarified that there was 'no violation of regulations.' The committee made up of fellow writers also determined that it was not an intentional violation and recommended a private warning, but the board changed the decision to 'immediate expulsion.'"
Park Chan-wook and McKellar did not appeal the expulsion, while Moho Film added, "The expulsion was already confirmed in April this year, and we were focused on the production of the new film 'I Can't Help It' at that time. We felt burdened by pursuing the long appeal process alongside the work, so we decided not to appeal."
Since Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar have lost their WGA membership, they cannot officially work as writers on film and TV projects under the guild's jurisdiction in the United States. Additionally, they will be excluded from minimum wage, residual revenue, and welfare benefits guaranteed by the WGA, and participation in studio, broadcast, and OTT projects that require WGA contracts will only be possible through 'non-union writer' contracts, which is expected to significantly limit their opportunities.
However, Moho Film added, "Whether or not they are members, there are no obstacles to working on projects."
Meanwhile, Director Park Chan-wook gained international fame through works such as 'Oldboy' (2003) and 'The Handmaiden' (2016), and his next film 'I Can't Help It' is set to be released domestically this September.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]