Coupang Play Claps Back at ‘Anna’ Director Regarding Platform's Apology Statement
The controversy behind Bae Suzy's K-drama "Anna" continues as Coupang Play responded to the director's claims regarding an alleged "apology statement" from the network.
According to reports from various media outlets, the issue has reportedly been settled after Coupang Play made an official apology to director Lee Joo Young.
'Anna' Director Says Coupang Play Issued Apology Statement
"Anna" director shared the conclusion regarding their closed-door meeting with The Directors' Guild of Korea, citing that the platform apologized to the director for editing the K-drama without her consent.
Through her legal representative, Siwoo Law Firm claimed that Coupang Play's general manager has expressed a deep apology to the female director and also promised to remove Lee Joo Young and her staff members' names in the edited version as requested by the director.
"Director Lee Joo Young received a sincere apology from the head of Coupang Play about the recent incident regarding the series 'Anna,' and was promised that her name, as well as those of six other staff members, will be deleted from the credits of the six-part version of the series" the statement reads.
The controversy started when Coupang Play released the six-part episode version of "Anna" starring Bae Suzy without her consent and instead of the original eight-part series.
In a separate report, the director's legal representative tells Korea Herald that they will have to check if the platform will comply with their promise
READ MORE: Bae Suzy Lives With Two Different Personalities in New Drama 'Anna'
"According to Coupang Play, it requires around three weeks to make changes to the locally released content since the Korea Media Rating Board needs to approve it. And it will take around a week for content that will be released overseas," the official said as obtained by the outlet.
However, amid the latest update regarding the "Anna" controversy, Coupang Play says that there has been no apology made on their side.
Coupang Play To Take Legal Action Against 'Anna' Director
In a report cited by EDaily, the OTT platform countered the position of director Lee Joo Young saying that they apologized for violating editorial rights and damage to the work.
Instead, Coupang Play announced that they will be taking legal action against the "Anna" director and her legal representative for distributing false information through press releases.
"On the 21st, false facts that were not discussed at this meeting were unilaterally distributed through the legal representative of director Joo-young Lee on the 21st," Coupang Play said, adding that a lawyer at Siwoo, who is the legal representative of director Lee, "distributed facts and other press releases to the effect that 'Coupang Play has apologized for the controversy in the editing process."
Concluding their message to the director and her representative, the platform expressed its "deep regret that director Lee has unilaterally distributed false information."
"Since we cannot overlook the fact that the facts are being distorted any longer, not only Lee, but also Jo Kwang-hee, lawyer Cho, and Song Young-hoon, and through legal action against law firms, we will present objective evidence, including minutes of meetings, and correct the facts," Coupang Play reiterated as stated in the report.
It can be recalled that Coupang Play previously announced that the eight-part episode director's cut of "Anna" was released on August 12, following the demand of the director.
