Korea Development Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea said on the 3rd that no outside requests or interference were involved in their investments in the film "Assassins." IBK said it decided to invest directly after its own review, while KDB said the manager of a fund it had backed made the investment decision independently.
In a statement on the same day, IBK said the deal "proceeded through an investment review by the dedicated department, following the same procedures as before." The bank said it made the final investment decision under internal standards after weighing the production company's capabilities, the competitiveness of the director and cast, and the project's commercial viability. It added that "allegations that the investment was decided through an outside request or an abnormal channel are not true."
KDB also issued a separate statement saying it was not directly involved in the decision to invest in the film. The bank said it did not invest in the movie directly but instead contributed capital to a fund, and that the actual investment decision was made independently by the fund's manager, identified as Company S.
"Decision-making and follow-up management on individual investments by a fund are the exclusive responsibility of the asset manager," KDB said, stressing that "KDB cannot take part in the investment process." It added that the bank "had no involvement in the selection of investment targets or the investment decision for 'Assassins,' and claims that the investment was decided through an outside request or interference are also untrue."
Earlier, Joo Jin-woo, a lawmaker of the People Power Party, disclosed on the 30th of last month the investment records of state-run banks and the funds they backed in "Assassins" and its production company. According to data from Joo's office, IBK invested 2 billion won ($1.4 million) directly in the film, while 400 million won came from a fund backed by KDB. For the film's production company, Hive Media Corp., 14.25 billion won was invested from a fund in which IBK participated and 14 billion won from a fund in which KDB participated.
