The film 'The King and the Man' (directed by Jang Hang-jun) has been unexpectedly embroiled in plagiarism allegations, which producer Lim Eun-jung has denied.
On the 11th, Lim Eun-jung, the CEO of Onda Works and producer of 'The King and the Man,' was interviewed at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Seoul.
'The King and the Man' tells the story of the deposed King Danjong and the village chief Eom Heung-do in exile in Yeongwol. The film became a box office hit, surpassing 10 million viewers on the 6th and attracting 11.88 million viewers by the 10th.
Lim, now a producer of a blockbuster film, expressed her gratitude, saying, "I am just thankful. The most gratitude goes to the audience." She added, "After executing the planned schedules and reaching 10 million, I think of every single person who worked on this project. I am grateful to everyone for their hard work."
Recently, 'The King and the Man' has been caught up in plagiarism controversy. The family of A, a late stage actor and descendant of Eom Heung-do who passed away in 2019, claimed that the film is significantly similar to the draft script of a drama titled 'Eom Heung-do' that A had written.
Regarding the plagiarism allegations, Lim stated, "I learned about it through the news. We have made our position clear," adding, "We have not received any formal notice. There has been no change in the situation. Our stance is firm and sincere. There are no additional updates." When asked if any prior works were referenced, she replied, "Not at all." She further explained, "I didn't pick up the script; I worked on it from the original idea stage. We started when there wasn't even a single line of dialogue. There were writers who worked with us on the treatment and first draft. We have records of the contract process, meetings, and meeting minutes. We even conducted adaptation sessions while staying together. These processes are convincing, which is why we have stated our position as such."
By Kim Ji-won, TenAsia Reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr