South Korean Director Kim Ki-duk Sued for Alleged Violence on Set, Adding Unscripted Sex Scene

A South Korean actress has sued filmmaker Kim Ki-duk for being violent on set, local daily newspaper Dong-A Ilbo reported Thursday.

The Golden Lion-winning director has been accused of slapping the 41-year-old actress, whose identity has not been revealed, while filming 2013 Venice title Moebius. The actress alleges that Kim also forced her to take part in a violent sex scene that was not initially included in the script.

The actress in question shortly left the cast and was replaced by Lee Eun-woo, who played the lead role of the distressed mother in the controversial incest drama. According to Yonhap News Agency, prosecutors at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office are looking into the case.

Kim’s producer, who usually handles media relations, was not available to comment for THR but has been quoted by Dong-A Ilbo as saying, “It is true that there was slapping, but it was part of giving instructions for an assault scene,” but that the filmmaker never pressured the actress for an unscripted sex scene.

Kim has been widely acclaimed for such films as Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter … and Spring and Pieta, the latter of which won the Venice Golden Lion in 2012. Moebius showed out of competition at Venice and was initially banned in South Korea. It eventually received a limited release after undergoing cuts.