By Kang Hyun-kyung

Director Lim Sung-chan got the green light from Seoul High Court for his ongoing film project, tentatively titled "Father's War" which revolves around the suspicious death of first lieutenant Kim Hoon two decades ago.

Kim, with a gunshot wound in his temple, was found dead on Feb. 23, 1998, in an underground bunker of the Joint Security Area near the inter-Korean border. His death has since remained a mystery as investigators failed to find the murderer, paving the way for ceaseless rumors over the past two decades about the cause of his death.

On Wednesday, the filmmaker got the nod from the higher court to resume filming as he intended. The higher court reversed a district court's ruling, siding with the filmmaker who claimed the lower court's decision to ban the shooting of 47 cuts violated his freedom of expression. The lower court also ordered the filmmaker or the producer to pay a 5 million won fine per day if they violate the ruling.

The late first lieutenant Kim Hoon, right, with his father / Korea Times

The filmmaker began shooting the film starring actor Han Seok-kyu in February this year based on Kim's death.

But he soon faced backlash from Kim's family.

Shooting of the film has been suspended over the dispute between the filmmaker and Kim's family.

Retired Lieutenant General Kim Chuk, the late Kim's father, said he rejected the filmmaker's initial request to approve his film project. Facing opposition, the filmmaker revised the scenario in vain to get his approval. The older Kim said the film defamed him and distorted the facts regarding his son's death.

The older Kim challenged the filmmaker's conclusion that his son was the victim of a corruption game inside the military and faced the tragic end of his life while investigating the corruption scandal. The film indicates that the military brass was involved in the death of the younger Kim to cover up the systematic corruption inside the military.

The older Kim insists his son could have been murdered by North Korean soldiers who were stationed near the Joint Security Area. Thus he said Lim's film would mislead the public if it is released. He also claimed the film defamed him by portraying him as a self-serving retired military general who abused his power to fulfill his goals.

In April last year, the discontented father filed for an injunction against the filmmaker and requested the district court ban the shooting of the film.
The district court ruled in favor of the Kim family.

Filmmaker Lim, however, appealed to the higher court which ultimately reversed the lower court's decision.

The higher court denied the older Kim's claim that the film project defamed him, noting as long as the filmmaker made notice that some elements of his film are not based on fact, the film doesn't constitute defamation.

Mentioning the military's previous endeavor to reinvestigate the younger Kim's death ended in vain, the higher court said as of no_ 20 years after the incident_ is impossible to find out who murdered the younger Kim.

Although the film is based on a true story, the court said, the filmmaker can dramatize what happened because this is what commercial movies usually do to entertain and attract viewers. Thus, the court said, Lim's film project has not violated freedom of expression.

(责任编辑：产品中心)