Heartbreaking news to the film industry: Director Kim Ki Duk has sadly passed away due to COVID complications.
On Dec. 11, some media outlets released the sad news that Kim Ki Duk passed away due to COVID-19 complications. Reportedly, on Nov. 20, the director traveled to Latvia to purchase a beach house in Jūrmala. He intended to obtain residency status and permanently reside in Latvia. He was also planning to shoot his project there, which is a new film with a Latvian-Korean production.
However, on the day of the house's purchase, Kim Ki Duk did not show up and was not traceable. It's has been reported that the director was recently tested positive for the COVID19 virus and later on died in the hospital due to COVID19 complications. Sad to say, the director died at the young age of 59.
This news has been confirmed by a representative from his production company Kim Ki Duk Film. The representative confirmed to a Korean news outlet that the director passed away in Latvia. They also said that as of the moment, nothing had been decided about the funeral plans since the director's family just received the sad news and is currently mourning.
South Korean film director Kim Ki Duk was born on Dec. 20, 1960. The 59-year-old director is known for his idiosyncratic art-house cinematic works. The films that Kim Ki Duk created have received many distinctions in the festival circuit, making him one of the most important contemporary Asian film directors.
In 1996, he debuted as a director through the low budget movie titled Crocodile. The said film gained sensational reviews from movie critics in South Korea. Kim Ki Duk's international breakthrough occurred through his film The Isle at the Toronto International Film Festival
His widely recognized works included "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring," "3-Iron," "Samaria," "Pietà," and more. Kim Ki Duk was also considered as the only Korean director to have received awards from the world's three major international film festivals in Cannes, Venice, and Berlin.
Kim Ki Duk was involved in a controversy in 2017 when an anonymous actress came forward accusing the director of alleged assault on the set of his film Moebius. The actress claimed that he slapped her several times before pressuring her to participate in a sex scene, which she never agreed to do. The director admitted to the violence charges in court but did not admit to the sexual assault.
Then, in 2018, at least three women accused Kim of sexual assault. He denied the accusations and filed false accusations and defamation suits against the accusers. The following year, the court ordered the director to pay a fine of $4,450 for the physical assault charges. However, the court dismissed the sexual assault charge for lack of evidence. The director then filed a case against the actress for false accusations, and he also filed a lawsuit against a women's rights group over "damages" caused by the group against him.
Following his involvement in this controversy, Kim Ki Duk focused his career overseas, including filming the Russian-language movie "Dissolve" in Kazakhstan.
We give our heartfelt condolences to Directors Kim Ki Duk's family and friends.
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Written By Sam Yap
