Police have sent three individuals affiliated with a KBS drama to the prosecution on charges of “cultural property damage.” On the 7th, the Gyeongbuk Andong Police Station sent three members of the on-site prop team (one team leader and two staff members) from the KBS drama “Stealing the First Night of the Male Lead,” starring Ok Taecyeon and Seo Hyun, to the prosecution.
This came to light when a citizen, who had reported the filming team to the Gyeongbuk Andong Police Station on January 3rd for violating the “Cultural Heritage Preservation and Utilization Act,” shared the fact that the case was sent to prosecution. According to the investigation result notification, the decision to send the case was made on the 5th, with the main content stating, “The incident reported through the National Sinmungo has been decided to be forwarded as the suspect’s criminal charges are sufficiently recognized.”
The informant, identified as A, who reported through the National Sinmungo, mentioned during a call with the police, “There are a total of three suspects. All three are executors of the act. There wasn’t anyone who clearly instructed them to do so.” They added, “There is a props team and a filming team, among others, on set. The people who were photographed and caught in the act belong to the props team, including the team leader and subordinates.”
Additionally, the informant said, “The props team needed to hang items before filming, so they additionally nailed things in place. There were three filming sessions,” and explained, “The overall person in charge was not proven guilty. Related individuals were all investigated as references. The people who practically executed the nailing and managed the tasks were the three individuals.”
Previously, architect Min Seo-hong revealed an incident he witnessed at Byeongsan Seowon on December 30th. According to Min, while he expected a broadcast shoot and proceeded inside, he witnessed the production crew damaging cultural properties. “Various items, which appeared to be drama props, were placed inside the Seowon, and some staff members were nailing wooden pillars to hang lanterns,” Min stated. “Looking around, quite a few lanterns were already hanging from the pillars of Mandae-roo.”
Although Min protested about the damage to the staff, the response he received was, “We already received approval from Andong City,” “If you’re curious, shouldn’t you ask the municipal office?” and “How many times do we have to explain that we have permission?” Consequently, Min contacted Andong City’s cultural heritage department and reported it to the National Heritage Administration (formerly the Cultural Heritage Administration). He remarked, “There’s doubt whether permitting cultural properties as filming locations is right,” criticizing, “It’s lamentable that such an incident occurs during the drama production of the public broadcasting station KBS. It’s not something that can be dismissed lightly.”
Subsequently, KBS acknowledged the cultural property damage. They stated, “After dispatching the drama center director and the responsible producer to Byeongsan Seowon in Andong to grasp the on-site situation, it was confirmed that new nails were inserted into about 10 pre-existing nail marks to hold props in place with pressure.” It was identified that “the production team placed nails at approximately 10 spots, including eight girder ends in Mandae-roo pillars and two in Dongjae girder ends.” Following this, KBS was reportedly sued by Andong City for cultural heritage damage, and ultimately decided to discard all footage shot at Byeongsan Seowon. It is reported that KBS accepted Andong City’s request to discard the footage, and is currently in negotiation with Byeongsan Seowon officials regarding site verification and restitution procedures.
Article 92 of the Cultural Heritage Protection Act stipulates that “anyone who damages, steals, or conceals nationally designated cultural heritage, or otherwise impairs its utility, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than three years.”
“Stealing the First Night of the Male Lead” is a romance fantasy set to air this year, featuring the story of a college student whose soul enters a romance novel and spends a night with the novel’s obsessive male lead.