A special counsel sought a seven-year jail term for Kim Ki-choon, former President Park Geun-hye’s chief of staff and a six-year jail term for ex-Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun for their involvement in creating a blacklist of artists critical of Park and orchestrating systematic discrimination against them.

At the Seoul Central District Court, the special counsel asserted that Kim and Cho, two of Park’s core associates, “oppressed the freedom of expression protected by the Constitution” by colluding with her to create the list and use it as a basis for excluding dissident artists and cultural organization from state projects and funding. Some 9,500 local artists, film directors, musicians and organizations were included in the list. 

The counsel has also asked the court to hand down five-year prison terms to two other former ranking officials of the Culture Ministry and a former presidential secretary for political affairs for banning state sponsorship against the artists in collusion with the two.

Kim and Cho were indicted in February over abuse of power and perjury for their role in systematically discriminating against people deemed critical of the government.

The case led hundreds among those on the list to file a lawsuit against the former Park administration seeking compensation. It was part of a bigger scandal involving Park, her secret confidante Choi Soon-sil and others allegedly using state powers for personal gain.

Park herself is in detention and standing trial following her indication in April over 18 charges including bribery, extortion and abuse of power.

The verdict of the first Kim-Cho trial will be announced within two weeks.

By Bak Se-hwan (sh@heraldcorp.com)