The independent counsel team has concluded that the governments blacklisting of artists critical of the government was an antidemocratic oppression carried out for the sake of factional interests. The probe team announced the final results of its probe into the Choi Soon-sil scandal on Monday. The team said that former Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon and former Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun led the creation of the blacklist. The team said that the blacklist had hurt not only artists but also people in general by violating the freedom of creation and undermining cultural diversity by excluding certain artists from getting state subsidies just because they had different views. The team said that the blacklist was drafted out of the belief that criticism of the government is a challenge to the free democracy system, and constitutes a serious crime against the basic values of the Constitution. The team also said the blacklisting of artists also crippled the career civil service system, forcing Culture Ministry officials to become lackeys in the crime. Meanwhile, key figures in drafting the blacklist, including the former presidential chief of staff, have blasted the probe results and have refused to accept them.

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Probe: Artist Blacklist Antidemocratic Oppression - KBS WORLD Radio - KBS WORLD Radio News