'Big Deal' Overcomes Credit Battle Ahead of Premiere
May 28, 2025
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The Lamp, the producer of the `Soju War', issued a statement on the 28th saying that the decision of the Seoul Central District Court and the statement of the position of the `Soju War' director are not inappropriate.
Previously, the dispute arose when director Choi Yoon-jin insisted that the first screenwriter of 'Soju War'. In 2016, some of the characters and stories of Park Hyun-woo's written screenplay 'Enemy' hired by director Choi Yoon-jin led to 'Soju War'. Writer Park Hyun-woo and The Lamp, who recognized the paid-in nature of 'Enemy' during the later work of the film, protested to the director, and eventually, The Lamp took issue with the fact that director Choi Yoon-jin intentionally omitted the original writers and contracted the screenplay as if it were his own work. However, coach Choi Yoon-jin, who did not give in to this, applied for a temporary injunction against The Lamp to suspend the effect of the termination of the supervisory contract, increasing the noise.
According to The Lamp, the director contract for 'Soju War was terminated last year during production, and the existing director (director Choi Yoon-jin) was dismissed. After that, the production of 'Soju War' was continued to produce and complete the screening edit. The demobilizer (director Choi Yoon-jin) was given a 'field directing' credit in consideration of his contribution to the filming site before the demobilization.
Subsequently, The Lamp filed a lawsuit against the co-production company represented by the demobilizer and the demobilizer, including confirmation of the termination of the supervisory contract, and is currently in progress. In response, Choi applied for a provisional injunction against The Lamp to suspend the effect of termination of the contract, and the court that heard the case recognized The Lamp's vocation and decided to dismiss all the other party's injunction on the 27th.
By combining his own judgment and feelings from outside agencies, The Lamp concluded that Park Hyun-woo was the first scriptwriter of the 『Soju War" and that the dismissal person made the issue right through consultation in a way that recognized the fault and Park Hyun-woo's status as the original author?Although he wanted to be released, the dismissal did not respond and rather criticized the writers The Lamp and Park Hyun-woo along with distorted data, and continued to distribute documents claiming himself as the first screenwriter to the film industry for a long time. As a result, enormous damage was predicted in the 'Soju War', and other film victims who were damaged by the dismissal were found. "A series of measures were taken against the dismissal, including termination of the supervisory contract and filing a lawsuit on the merits. This was to protect the rights of new writers by belatedly correcting the controversy over the original author, which was discovered during the production of the film, without trying to cover up the controversy over the original author," he added.
In addition, "The Lamp explained this fact with evidence in the court provisional disposition proceedings, and the court accepted it and rejected all the other party's request for provisional disposition."It's time for the movie industry to say it's difficult. The Lamp has a role as a producer, but he is well aware of the weight and importance of the word 'movie is the director's art'. Therefore, I don't think the title 'supervisor' can be used as an honor that can be obtained by taking away the hard work of others or as a power that can crush the hard work of others. And I think The Lamp has an obligation to work hard to become a movie industry where more up-and-coming filmmakers can unleash their talents without fear. Fortunately, the film industry was patiently waiting for The Lamp's solution without being swayed by unfounded criticism, and the court also recognized the legitimacy of The Lamp's action and released 'Soju War' without incident. I hope you love 'Soju War' a lot. And I hope that the Vienna title of director in the `Soju War' will be taken as a reminder of how sublime, precious and important the job of director is to cover and protect all participants.'
The Lamp Co., Ltd. (CEO Park Eun-kyung, hereinafter 'The Lamp') terminated the director's contract for the upcoming The Lamp production film
The Lamp has filed a lawsuit against the co-producer represented by the dismissal and the dismissal, including confirmation of the termination of the supervisory contract, and is currently in progress. In response, the other party filed a provisional injunction against The Lamp to suspend the effect of termination of the contract, and the court hearing the case acknowledged The Lamp's vocation and decided to dismiss all the other party's provisional injunction on May 27, 2025.
When The Lamp signed a contract with a person who has no experience as a film director, he was provided with the "Soju War" scenario in which the person was marked as the sole writer, and The Lamp believed that the person was the sole writer of the "Soju War" scenario and signed a contract to direct the commercial film "Soju War" with a total budget of about 10 billion won.
However, during filming, The Lamp obtained information that there may be other writers who had a significant participation in creating the "Soju War" scenario, and as a result of conducting an investigation, it was confirmed that there was a high similarity with other scenarios written by new writer Park Hyun-woo in the past.
In this regard, the Korea Scenario Writers Association determined that "Soju War" was revised and created based on the scenario of Park Hyun-woo, and judged Park Hyun-woo as the original author of "Soju War," the first script writer, and the second script writer.
In response, The Lamp concluded Park Hyun-woo as the true first screenwriter by combining his own judgment and emotions from outside agencies, and wanted to produce and release "Soju War" by correcting the issue through consultation by acknowledging the fault and Park Hyun-woo's status as the original author, but the Hatcher did not respond and rather criticized The Lamp and Park Hyun-woo along with distorted data and continued to distribute documents claiming himself as the first scriptwriter to the film industry for a long time. As a result, enormous damage was predicted in the "Soju War", and other film victims who were damaged by the demolition were found. For more than a year, The Lamp tried to resolve the issue through consultation without going through a lawsuit, but this eventually led to a series of measures, including the termination of the supervisory contract and filing a lawsuit on the case. This is to protect the rights of new writers by belatedly correcting them without trying to cover up the controversy over the original author found during the production of the film.
The Lamp explained this fact with evidence in the court's provisional disposition proceedings, and the court accepted it and rejected all the other's request for provisional disposition. In particular, the court cannot conclude that the notice of termination " (of The Lamp) is illegal in its decision", "Personality rights (by Park Hyun-woo) including the right to express the name cannot be transferred due to its nature, and copyright infringement may become a problem if Park Hyun-woo is not marked on the script credit."" "The video of the (Soju War) film that has been finally completed and is about to be screened appears to have been edited by someone other than the (not the demobilizer")" acknowledged The Lamp's vocation.
On the other hand, regarding the controversy over the original author of "Soju War", The Lamp's executive was sued for defamation by the dismissal in early 2024, but prosecutors disposed of The Lamp's executive without charges in March.
In addition, in a lawsuit filed by the original author, the court ruled in early May that a new writer other than the original writer was the original author of the scenario.
It's a time when the movie industry says it's difficult. The Lamp has a role as a producer, but he is well aware of the weight and importance of the word 'movie is the director's art'. Therefore, I don't think the title 'Director' can be used as a power to take away the hard work of others or to crush the hard work of others. And I think The Lamp has an obligation to work hard to become a movie industry where more up-and-coming filmmakers can unleash their talents without fear. In response, The Lamp focused on producing and completing "Soju War" by taking measures such as directing and dismissing new artists under the principles of protecting their legitimate rights, ethical management, and protecting public trust in the film industry.
In the meantime, the dismissal made a unilateral post criticizing The Lamp without grounds, distributed it indiscriminately to film groups and related parties, and contacted The Lamp individually to convey a unilateral claim, which was not an easy time for The Lamp and its executives and employees. However, fortunately, the film industry was patiently waiting for The Lamp's solution without being swayed by unfounded criticism, and the court was able to release "Soju War" safely in recognition of The Lamp's actions.
I hope you show a lot of love for "Soju War". And I hope that the title of director Vienna in "The Battle of Soju" will be taken as a reminder of how sublime, precious, and important the position of director is to cover and protect all participants.
Thank you.
soulhn1220@sportschosun.com
