The organizers of the Busan International Film Festival and the Busan Metropolitan Government have reached a compromise for the time being and will cooperate to hold the 21st edition of Asia’s largest film festival this year, BIFF announced on Monday.

BIFF and Busan have jointly appointed Kim Dong-ho, BIFF’s executive director from 1996 to 2010, as the festival’s new chairman, with the city government agreeing to open the post of BIFF chairman to nongovernment personnel.

Previously, BIFF’s chairmanship was automatically assumed by Busan’s mayor as per BIFF’s bylaws. The bylaws will be amended sometime this month to allow the BIFF’s chairman to be appointed from the nongovernment sector, BIFF said in a statement released Monday. 

While Busan mayor Suh Byung-soo’s resignation as BIFF’s chairman last March was seen as a symbolic move, Monday’s agreement marks the first time Busan has conceded to handing over the reins to BIFF.

“This does not signify a complete resolution,” Lee Hyo-jin of BIFF’s communications team told The Korea Herald. “This is the beginning of a long process to achieve the festival’s independence.”

On why Busan has agreed to the amendment, a Busan Metropolitan Government official who requested anonymity said, “The festival dates are imminent, and we prioritized the success of BIFF over everything else.”  


A general meeting of BIFF’s leadership will take place after the end of this year’s festival to discuss more extensive amendments to BIFF’s bylaws, both parties said.

“For the moment, we have only agreed on amending the clause regarding chairmanship,” Lee said. “We will seek to maximize BIFF’s autonomy and freedom of expression through further amendments in November and thereafter.”

BIFF will also push for the festival leadership, such as its chairman and executive director, to be required to have more “expertise” in film and the filmmaking industry. 

Busan Metropolitan Government, meanwhile, will request that BIFF take on greater fiscal transparency and involve more Busan locals in the festival’s leadership, the Busan official said.

“We would like the bylaws to stipulate greater fiscal transparency and responsibility regarding BIFF’s operation, in light of recent prosecution charges,” he said, referring to the indictment of former senior BIFF leaders on fraud and embezzlement charges. 

The compromise on BIFF’s chairmanship marks the newest development in a prolonged dispute that sparked in 2014 when BIFF screened a controversial documentary against Busan’s wishes.

BIFF will take place from Oct. 6-15. The deadline for submitting films for consideration for the official program is June 30 for short films and July 29 for feature-length films.

By Rumy Doo (doo@heraldcorp.com)