Maestro Chung Myung-whun, the former 10-year music director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, is scheduled to return to Korea on Wednesday after being summoned by the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office.

Former SPO CEO Park Hyun-jung, who was ousted as the orchestra head in December 2014 over allegations of sexual and verbal harassment by members of the SPO, has filed a suit against Chung and his wife, surnamed Koo, who are currently staying in France, on charges of defamation.

Along with the allegations of defamation, the well-known local conductor has also been under investigation since March last year on suspicions of embezzlement. 

On Tuesday, the law firm Jipyong released an official statement vaguely explaining the maestro’s stance in regards to the upcoming summons, which is scheduled for Thursday morning. 


“For the sake of Maestro Chung Myung-whun being able to concentrate on music, we plan to take strict actions against all groundless slander and spreading of false accusations,” the statement said.

While the statement did not definitively argue Chung’s innocence with regards to the investigations into his conduct with the SPO, representatives of Jipyong noted the conductor’s character has been defamed by media reports that have accused him of “disposing of all his properties and assets and fleeing overseas.” It added that some media outlets published corrections after having confirmed “facts.”

“This investigation will reveal the truth and I hope that this situation will be resolved as soon as possible,” said Chung in the official statement. “Starting in August, I have a number of scheduled concerts, so I will return home once again and hope that I will be able to return to everyone with some good performances.”

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)