The newly appointed Korea National Opera director Han Ye-jin has assumed office under heavy fire, with her appointment being opposed by the opera community following allegations that the 44-year-old former soprano exaggerated her professional qualifications.

Han was appointed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in December causing an uproar among members of the local opera community, who have filed a complaint accusing her of extending the timeline of her professional career on her resume.

Despite the ongoing controversy, Han continued to defend her qualifications to the media.

“I apologize for having to meet under these circumstances, but I promise to live up to my position to the best of my abilities,” said Han during a news conference held in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, on Tuesday.

“Whatever be the circumstances surrounding my appointment, all I ask is that you give me a chance. It saddens me that all this opposition comes before anyone has even given me the opportunity to show what I am capable of doing in this job ... give me a chance, then you can criticize my actions.”

During the media event, Park Hyun-june, an outraged opera singer and member of the emergency committee to remove Han from office, gate-crashed the venue and demanded that his voice be heard.

“The opera community has been deceived by the appointment of Han Ye-jin,” he shouted, grabbing the mics and stealing the attention.

“This is not right. She is unqualified to hold this position and her appointment as director is outrageous. They (the Ministry) refer to her as experienced and an international soprano sensation, yet none of this is true. We demand an investigation into the truth.”

Although the press conference was originally intended for Han to lay out her new five-year vision for the Korea National Opera, all focus continued to revert to the controversy surrounding the validity of her professional career.

Shortly after her appointment late last year, an emergency committee of seven local opera-related organizations was formed to oppose her appointment following an announcement by the ministry that Han was formerly a visiting professor at Sangmyung University from 2003. It was later revealed in a follow-up announcement that there was a “typo,” as Han had only held the position for less than a year from May 2014.

The emergency committee was suspicious and claimed she tried to cloak her mistake by calling it a typo even as she sought to intentionally buff-up her resume. Han has vehemently denied the claims.

“All the ongoing complications are merely the result of an unfortunate miscommunication,” she defended. “I have produced all of the necessary documents of my past work experiences and sent them to the Culture Ministry. If I were going to lie about my career, I would have no reason to write 2003, I was not even in Korea back then.”

Despite her claims that she has already sent proof of her professional career to the ministry, officials have yet to confirm the validity of any of the ongoing allegations against the director.They noted that much of her professional career was spent abroad so her official documentation is not yet complete.

Members of the opposition committee previously stated that if their demands are not met, they will refuse to appear in any of the KNO’s upcoming productions and will continue to protest until Han steps down or is removed.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)