The Arts Council Korea has announced that a new committee will be formed for the selection of the curator of the Korean Pavilion for the upcoming Venice Biennale after the previous committee resigned en masse over controversy surrounding alleged conflicts of interest in the screening process.

"The selection committee members have decided to quit their positions in pursuit of fairness. It seems they felt pressured about the issue,” an official from the council told The Korea Herald on Monday. “We will push for a new selection committee to be formed as soon as possible.”

Arko aims to set up the new committee this month and announce the curator in August. The selection of the Korea Pavilion curator will be made among the existing 12 candidates.

The curator was scheduled to be announced in July, but the process was put on hold after a complaint of suspected cronyism was submitted following the announcement of the four final candidates on June 15.

Arko earlier had announced that the committee members would remain the same except for the member who was involved in the issue. However, the plan fell through when the committee members decided to resign from the committee.

Arko confirmed that the two of the four finalists currently work for the institution in which a committee member is involved. The candidates had not disclosed their current workplace in their applications, Arko said.

"It’s nonsense that the committee member did not recognize the two applicants during the application and interview processes,” said a person familiar issue, adding that the related committee member may have exercised influence in the two candidates being named among the finalists.

The 59th International Art Exhibition of Venice Biennale is scheduled to take place from April 23 to Nov. 27, 2022. Arko forms the artistic director selection committee and manages the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale as commissioner of the pavilion.