Director Jung Yoon-seok was charged by prosecutors after entering the Western District Court to document the January 19th riots. He went to the court as an artist to document the moment when the riots risked democracy. However, the prosecution disregarded his public interest and accused him of being a participant in the Western District Riots without considering the context of his filming, which is a clear violation of the freedom of expression of the press and artists.
On April 16th (Wednesday), the second trial against director Jung Yoon-seok will be held at the Seoul Western District Court. In response, the Freedom of Expression Network Against Hate and Censorship (a.k.a. Article 21 Net), a coalition of human rights, labor, cultural, and media organizations, collected petitions from citizens and civil society organizations requesting Jung’s acquittal and submitted them to the court.
The petition was signed by 169 organizations and 11,831 citizens from across the country (12,000 organizations and individuals in total).
In the petition, Article 21 Net stated that “(Director Jung) is an artist and journalist who took a risk in filming the mob violence to show the world and record it in history,” and that “we hope that the court will make a wise decision that guarantees freedom of expression by discriminating between criminals and witnesses with a careful and accurate eye.”
Article 21 Net plans to continue to stand in solidarity with the filmmakers in the upcoming trial process to acquit Jung and defend freedom of expression. We look forward to your interest and coverage.
April 15, 2025
Network of Freedom of Expression Against Hate and Censorship (a,k,a Article 21 Net, 16 organizations)
Public Power Sensitivity Response Team, Cultural Solidarity, After the Blacklist, Open Net, Seoul Human Rights Film Festival, Seoul Disability Rights Film Festival, Media Reform Citizens’ Coalition, Media Rights Center, Human Rights Movement Space Bow, Human Rights Movement Network Wind, National Federation for the Promotion of Non-Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities, National Media Workers’ Union, National Disability Rights Coalition, Progress Network Center, Center for Information Disclosure for a Transparent Society, Korea Disability Forum
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