For the past two years, Asia's premier film festival has been in a fierce battle with the Busan metropolitan Government over its decision to screen a documentary that the Busan city mayor and former BIFF chairman adamantly opposed.
The contentious film, The Diving Bell, criticized the South Korean Government's rescue efforts in the aftermath of the Sewol Ferry disaster, which took the lives of more than 300, most of whom were high school students.
Encroachment on artistic freedom has worsened in recent years with artists getting arrested or slapped with fines if their work shows satire or criticism against the current administration.
South Korea's biggest contemporary art institution, the National Museum of Modern Contemporary Art (MMCA), has also been accused of "restricting freedoms" after the culture ministry chose a new director who had been mired by censorship allegations the year prior.
"The Government is trying to control the arts so they can oppress those who criticize them and block negative messages," said Movie Director and Sejong University Professor Lee Jeong-guk, when asked about BIFF's strife and the current art climate in South Korea.
