The Arts Council Korea received an anonymous complaint about conflicts of interest, leading to the resignation en masse of the selection committee
The selection committee tasked with appointing the artistic director for South Korea’s pavilion at the Venice Biennale is to be re-formed by Arts Council Korea. The committee’s previous members resigned on 6 July after the Council restarted the search for the curator following complaints about conflicts of interest.
The Venice Biennale is due to open on 23 April 2022.
After screenings for the role were held last month, the Council received an anonymous complaint that two candidates had connections to a selection committee member: both were linked to the member’s workplace, but the association had not been disclosed.
A new selection plan was released excluding the committee member, but the decision led to the resignation en masse of the other members. ‘The selection committee members have decided to quit their positions in pursuit of fairness. It seems they felt pressured about the issue,’ a spokesperson told the Korea Herald.
‘It’s nonsense that the committee member did not recognize the two applicants during the application and interview processes,’ a source told the paper.
