On September 14 KST, the production company Anthology Studio of the 2023 film 'Cobweb' (directed by Kim Ji Woon) released an official statement in response to an ongoing lawsuit, filed by the family of the late film director Kim Ki Young.

Previously, the second son of the late Korean film director Kim Ki Young and 2 other family members filed a lawsuit against Anthology Studio, demanding that the court issue a ban on the public screening of 'Cobweb'. A court hearing for this lawsuit took place on September 13, with the opposing sides in strong disagreement. 

The family of the late director Kim Ki Young claimed that the main character of 'Cobweb', a fictional film director named Kim Yeol (played by Song Kang Ho), is based off of a real-life figure, director Kim Ki Young (born 1919, died 1998). According to the family, Kim Ji Woon previously mentioned in an interview that the character in his story was inspired by the renowned director Kim Ki Young. The family also found it problematic that the character Kim Yeol is portrayed as a villainous character, and accused Kim Ji Woon of defaming the deceased director's image. 

Now, in response to the ongoing lawsuit, Anthology Studio clarified in a statement on September 14, "As people in this film industry with utmost respect toward the celebrated director Kim Ki Young, we sincerely apologize to the late director's family members for causing them concerns. However, the main character of 'Cobweb' is a purely fictional character, whose image reflects the generic characteristics of film directors or creators across all time periods."

Anthology Studio continued, "It has been clarified time and again that the main character was not in fact based off of the late director Kim Ki Young, and the film has never attempted to use this story for any form of promotion whatsoever. For now, the studio plans on hearing out the deceased director's family. At the same time, we will do our best to ensure that no misunderstandings arise in any future promotional and marketing tactics."

'Cobweb', which takes place in the 1970's and tells the story of a film director and his crew on the set of a fully completed production which the director becomes insistent on revising, was shown at the '76th Cannes International Film Festival' in the out-of-competition category earlier this year. It stars Song Kang Ho, Im Soo Jung, Oh Jung Se, Jeon Yeo Bin, Krystal, and more. It is set to premiere in theaters across Korea on September 27.