Park Chan-wook denied that he violated WGA strike rules after the union expelled him and “The Sympathizer” co-creator Don McKellar for writing on the HBO limited series during the 2023 writers’ strike.
“I have never violated any rules,” Chan-wook’s Moho Film said in a translated statement to South Korean outlet Maeil Business Newspaper on Tuesday.
Chan-wook explained that he and McKellar had completed the entirety of scripts for “The Sympathizer” and had been in production long before the WGA strike began on May 2, 2023 and at the time of the strike, the series was in post-production. Chan-wook claimed that editing “does not constitute writing,” and was therefore permitted under WGA regulations.
During the editing process, however, Chan-wook and McKellar received a proposal from HBO to change some of the settings within “The Sympathizer,” according to Chan-wook, which lead to a brainstorming session to see if the new settings could be integrated given what was already shot.
Chan-wook clarified that he and McKellar knew that writing was not allowed during the strike, so they waited to rewrite or revise any of the existing scenes until after the strike ended.
While a WGA investigation launched in December 2024 conducted by a committee of writers found that the violations were “unintentional and stemmed from a misunderstanding of their roles during post-production” and recommended the pair were issued a confidential warning, the WGA Board of Directors decided expel both Chan-wook and McKellar.
As to why Chan-wook did not appeal the decision, he explained that he wanted to remain focused on his upcoming film “No Other Choice,” which will debut at the Venice Film Festival. The film was in post-production in Korea at the time, and Chan-wook explained, “I couldn’t afford to spend as much time as the hearing on an appeal, even though I can still write without being a union member.”
“Director Park has always had a deep respect for his fellow writers and creators, and has consistently maintained a spirit of solidarity with them, and will continue to do so in the future,” the translated statement read.
