Director Kim Ki-duk sues rape, harassment accusers

Arthouse filmmaker Kim Ki-duk has sued three actresses and a TV show for falsely accusing him of sexual assault and sexual harassment.

According to industry sources, Kim recently filed a suit with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office against an actress for falsely accusing him of sexual harassment. He also sued two more actresses, one of whom accused him of rape and the other of sexual harassment, and the MBC show “PD’s Notepad” for defamation.

“As a man with a family, I cannot say that I haven’t done something shameful. But I am not the rapist that ‘PD’s Notepad’ depicted me to be. I have suffered great damage from the false accusations, report and TV production based on false information,” the complaint is reported to have said.

The actress sued for false accusations had claimed last year that Kim forced her to do a sex scene while shooting the film “Moebius,” without prior arrangement. She also accused him of sexually and physically harassing her. The case was brought to the prosecution, but was dropped in December due to a lack of evidence. Kim was fined 5 million won ($4,650) for slapping her in the face.

In March, the MBC investigative news show “PD’s Notepad” featured two additional actresses who accused Kim of abusing his power as a famed director. One said she was raped by Kim and actor Cho Jae-hyun.

After the news of Kim’s lawsuits surfaced, producer Han Hak-soo of “PD's Notepad” wrote on his social media account that the production staff had confirmed specific facts regarding the matter through various channels.

“The production team is sorry that Kim, who didn’t make an objection during the coverage, has now filed a lawsuit,” the post read. “It would have been a hard decision for the actresses to come forward, but now they are being sued.”

Kim, who won the Golden Lion for “Pieta” at the Venice Film Festival in 2012, was invited to this year’s Berlin International Film Festival for his recent film “Human, Space, Time and Human” amid the controversies.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)