'Anna' creator, Coupang Play in dispute over 're-editing without consent'

Actress Bae Suzy in a scene from Coupang Play's original series "Anna" / Courtesy of Coupang Play

By Kim Rahn

A rare dispute has emerged between a creator and an over-the-top (OTT) service provider. The creator of Coupang Play's original series "Anna," starring Bae Suzy, is claiming that the streaming platform re-edited the series without her consent and thus "damaged" the creation, while the platform is claiming that the director's first edition did not follow what had been agreed upon before commencing production.

The writer and director, Lee Joo-young, issued a statement through a law firm, Tuesday, to claim that she initially planned an eight-episode series, which Coupang Play confirmed. But before the drama's release on June 24, Coupang told her that it would have another producer re-edit the drama and shortened it to six episodes.

"Director Lee could not agree with the re-edited version, which she had not even watched, to be released under her name, so demanded Coupang Play remove her name as 'director' and 'writer,' a demand which Coupang Play refused," the statement read.

"The six-episode 'Anna' was released after being re-edited. In the final version, not only was the viewing time reduced, but the original version's narrative, filming and editing have also been largely damaged," it said.

The director claimed Coupang Play has not responded to her request to rectify what she called were faults.

A poster for Coupang Play's series "Anna" / Courtesy of Coupang Play

Calling Coupang Play's act "unprecedented damage to the work" and a "violation of the author's moral right," Lee said, "Such a thing should not recur in order to protect creators, to have Korea's media industry develop, and to prevent viewers from watching a drama without knowing who is the real creator."

She demanded the streaming platform apologize to her and all staff involved in the making of the series, remove her name from the six-episode version, release the eight-episode version as soon as possible, and declare Coupang Play would never repeat such a unilateral action against a creator. "If Coupang Play ignores the demands, I'll take all possible legal actions."

The series' editing director, Kim Jeong-hun, also said Wednesday that "Anna" was made secretly by someone, excluding the creator and staff, adding he also wanted his name to be removed, but Coupang refused. "Is this the way, as Coupang said, to communicate and produce a quality work?" he wrote on his Facebook.

Regarding the claims by Lee and Kim, Coupang Play said, Wednesday, it would release the eight-episode version as a director's cut in August "to respect the director's editing direction."

The platform claimed it had given support and trust to director Lee and her team, but later learned her version was "completely different from what was agreed upon between Coupang Play, the director and the production company."

"For the last few months, we requested the director to edit as agreed, but she refused," the service provider said. "After getting the nod from the production company, and based on our rights stated on the contract, we re-edited the series to meet the original purpose of production, and this resulted in the series gaining good responses from viewers.

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