(Minghui.org) Kwon Hong-dae, President of the Korean Falun Dafa Association, which hosts Shen Yun Performing Arts in South Korea, submitted an investigation request to the Board of Audit and Inspection regarding the Korean Broadcasting Corporation’s (KBS) rejection of Shen Yun’s application to rent theaters.

KBS Past and Present

KBS, formerly known as the “Korea Broadcasting Association,” was established on December 21, 1926, during the Japanese occupation of Korea. It later went through several changes and was reorganized into the Korean Broadcasting Corporation (KBS). In March 1973, KBS was reorganized into a public media. In 1980, the Dongyang Broadcasting Corporation was closed, and its TV and radio channels were merged into KBS.

KBS is currently one of the three major wireless TV stations in the Republic of Korea, along with the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) and SBS Corporation (SBS). Its income comes from the government and the commissioned TV license service fees. The national anthem of the Republic of Korea is the opening and closing song at the beginning and end of each day’s broadcast.

KBS’s Stance on Shen Yun Organizer and the Reasons Behind It

Since 2006, KBS has refused to allow Shen Yun to use its theaters. Although it signed rental contracts with the local organizer which hosts Shen Yun for the KBS halls in Busan and Seoul in 2006, 2008, and 2016, it eventually unilaterally canceled the contracts under pressure from the Chinese Embassy, causing significant losses to the organizer.

In particular, in 2016, after the organizer sued KBS in court and won, KBS raised objections to the court and asked it to rescind the original judgment, causing significant losses and troubles for the organizer and those who had already purchased tickets. According to the organizer, KBS submitted to the court a defamatory and threatening letter from the Chinese Embassy to KBS, claiming that allowing Shen Yun to perform in the KBS theaters would seriously affect relations between the two countries.

Observers say that, over the years, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) infiltration into South Korea and its control over South Korea is comparable to what happened in Hong Kong. Most people don’t realize it because they aren’t paying attention. This year’s announcement of martial law in South Korea and the arrest of the president is a manifestation of the CCP’s strong influence in Korea.

In an effort to to end the KBS’s discriminatory treatment and pressure from the Chinese Embassy—and to safeguard South Korea’s cultural sovereignty—the Korean Falun Dafa Association and more than 500 Falun Dafa practitioners and citizens submitted a request for an investigation.

Exposing the CCP’s Infiltration into Korean Culture

Dr. Wu Seyeol, General Secretary of the Falun Dafa Association in South Korea, said, “Currently, South Korea is in political turmoil, what with emergency martial law and a presidential impeachment. The CCP’s infiltration into South Korean society has been fully exposed, which has really shocked the public. Anti-communist sentiment among Koreans is growing rapidly. This request for an investigation is an important opportunity to further expose the CCP’s cultural infiltration.”

A practitioner who signed the request said, “For the past 18 years, despite obstruction by the Chinese Embassy, Shen Yun Performing Arts has successfully performed in South Korea, thanks to the courage of honorable public officials and the active cooperation of theater managers. The Chinese Embassy’s interference is an interference in South Korea’s internal affairs, which will only deepen the anti-communist sentiment of our people and expose the CCP internationally.”

South Korean Falun Dafa practitioners also hope that KBS will take this opportunity to stand up to the CCP’s pressure, end its unfair treatment of Shen Yun Performing Arts, and restore the dignity of the media as a state institution.

This request for an investigation is not only an important step for South Korea to safeguard its independence as a sovereign state, but will also help to rectify corruption in the public service and send a stern warning to the Chinese Embassy regarding cultural infiltration.

Dr. Wu Seyeol, General Secretary of the Falun Dafa Association in South Korea, submits the request for an investigation.

The CCP Interferes with Shen Yun

Shen Yun Performing Arts was founded in New York, USA, in 2006. It is a non-profit organization whose mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture. It tours around the world every year, and in the 2025 season, its eight companies will perform to over a million spectators. The Korean Falun Dafa Association, also a non-profit organization, is responsible for arranging Shen Yun performances in South Korea every year.

Regarding the background of this investigation request, Dr. Wu explained, “In recent years, the CCP’s interference in Shen Yun performances has spread globally, and the pro-CCP stance of some South Korean public officials is worrying. Some public officials are no longer politically neutral and have succumbed to the CCP’s pressure. Shen Yun Performing Arts showcases traditional Chinese culture in its performances and exposes human rights persecution in China, so it has drawn much attention from the international community, but the CCP openly obstructs it.

“In October 2022, General Secretary Xi Jinping of the CCP specifically instructed the Ministry of National Security and other judicial organs to strengthen the crackdown on overseas Falun Dafa practitioners and Shen Yun Performing Arts. Since October 2022, 13 national public theaters across South Korea have turned down our applications to rent venues for Shen Yun Performing Arts, which violates the principle of reciprocity in diplomatic relations between the United States and South Korea.”

Dr. Wu elaborated, “KBS is a national broadcasting organization, but it has lost its independence and succumbed to pressure from the Chinese Embassy by unilaterally canceling signed contracts to rent venues for Shen Yun performances many times. Now, KBS has even blacklisted Shen Yun and continues to discriminate against it. We are making this request for an investigation to correct this injustice.”