Multiple actresses have come forward to accuse South Korean filmmaker Kim Ki-duk of sexual harassment and rape. The revelations were made on March 6 in the South Korean investigative news programme, PD Notebook, parts of which were translated and published in a report by The Hollywood Reporter.
In 2017, an anonymous actress alleged that Kim Ki-duk assaulted and forced her to engage in a non-consesual sexual act on the sets of his 2013 film Moebius. The actress was replaced thereafter. Kim Ki-duk was ordered to pay a fine of close to $5,000 by a local court for physically assaulting the actress. However, the charges of sexual violence were not pursued due to lack of evidence.
In the latest episode of PD Notebook, this actress went public with her allegations for the first time, though her identity was withheld. The actress said that Kim Ki-duk forced her to engage in three-way sexual intercourse with another woman, and when she refused, the filmmaker told her, “I cannot work with an actor who cannot trust me.”
The actress said that it took four years for her to initiate legal action against Kim Ki-duk as other members of the cast and crew were hesitant to speak against a celebrated filmmmaker.
The programme featured the interviews of a male crew member who had been a part of Kim Ki-duk’s films, as well as a male filmmaker, both of whom said that the “horrifying incidents” had happened on the cult director’s sets.
Another actress revealed that she had been raped by Kim Ki-duk, as well as the director’s frequent collaborator, the actor Cho Jae-hyun, during the pre-production of a film she was a part of. The actress also said that Cho Jae-hyun’s manager made attempts to rape her as well while the film was being shot.
The actress added that Kim Ki-duk promised her a role in his next project if she continued to have sex with him. She went on to receive psychiatric therapy after the first film was shot, she said.
A third actress said that she left a pre-production meeting with Kim Ki-duk after she felt scared because the director harassed her verbally, asking sexually inappropriate questions.
Meanwhile, the filmmaker refuted the allegations, according to the report. He apparently sent the PD Notebook team a text message where he wrote that the ongoing #MeToo movement is condemning people even when the truth has not been revealed. He said that he has never tried to fulfill his personal desires through his movies.
“I have stolen a kiss... but never did anything beyond that without a woman’s consent,” Kim Ki-duk said. “I have been involved in intimate relationships, but it was always consensual. I am, however, ashamed of this as a married family man.”
