Jecheon International Music & Film Festival 'Operational Failures'... Ultimately, Seoul Office Closure

Seoul and Jecheon Offices Operated, Budget Waste Criticized
Poor Accounting Revealed in Audit, Calls for Abolition Arise

The Seoul office of the Jecheon International Music & Film Festival, which has been embroiled in controversy over poor accounting practices, has been closed. This marks the first time in 18 years since the festival's inception.

On the 4th, Jecheon City announced, "The Jecheon International Music & Film Festival office located in Nogosan-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, has been closed due to the festival's dysfunctional operations."

During the 18th festival held in August 2022, the Jecheon International Music & Film Festival was found to have overspent its secured budget, revealing poor accounting practices and sparking controversy. Of the allocated budget of 3,977 million KRW, there should have been 372 million KRW remaining in the accounts, but only 128 million KRW was left, and the audit revealed debts amounting to approximately 500 million KRW.

Until now, the Jecheon International Music & Film Festival has used an annual budget of around 4 billion KRW and operated offices both in Seoul and Jecheon, drawing criticism for budget waste. Moreover, due to its relatively low recognition compared to festivals held in other regions, public response has been skeptical.

Jecheon City held the executive committee chairman and the office director accountable for the poor accounting, dismissing them, and has initiated lawsuits for compensation while claiming 520 million KRW in insurance payments from the surety insurance. This severely damaged the festival's credibility, ultimately leading to the closure of the Seoul office.

2017 Jecheon International Music & Film Festival Opening Ceremony Photo by Yonhap News

However, with the insurance payment uncertain, it is reported that Jecheon City is considering paying 500 million KRW in advance from contingency funds, which has sparked strong opposition from the local community. There are criticisms that "the debts caused by the festival officials' mistakes are being covered by the taxpayers of Jecheon," and calls for the festival's closure are emerging.

Additionally, since this year's festival budget has been drastically cut to about 1.7 billion KRW, less than half of previous years, there are concerns that the event will inevitably be poorly executed again.

A Jecheon City official stated, "The Seoul office has been closed, and all future operations will be handled in Jecheon," adding, "We plan to reorganize and significantly reduce unnecessary events."

The seven employees of the closed Seoul office resigned without receiving their unpaid wages, and it is known that only about five employees remain at the Jecheon office to handle the work.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.