Court rejects bid to block 'The King's Warden' over plagiarism claims

A Seoul court has rejected a request to halt the screening and online streaming of director Jang Hang-jun's film "The King's Warden" amid allegations that it plagiarized the screenplay of a drama series titled "Eom Heung-do."

The 21st Civil Division of the Seoul Western District Court, presided over by Judge Shin Myeong-hui, dismissed an injunction request filed Thursday by the heirs of the "Eom Heung-do" drama screenplay writer against the film's co-producers, Onda Works and BA Entertainment, and distributor Showbox.

The court said it could not find sufficient similarity between the screenplay submitted by the heirs and "The King's Warden" to constitute plagiarism.

"In the heirs' screenplay, the character Eom Heung-do maintains an attitude of unwavering loyalty and dedication to King Danjong from beginning to end," the court said. "In contrast, the central theme of 'The King's Warden' is the mutual change and growth that unfolds as Danjong, Eom Heung-do and the villagers interact — making the two works entirely different in theme, narrative structure and character development."

The court acknowledged that some similarities exist given that both works are grounded in historical facts and feature the same real historical figures, but said the relationship between Danjong and Eom Heung-do, the overall plot and the main themes are entirely different, making it difficult to recognize any meaningful similarity.

The court also said there was no evidence that Jang, who revised the film's screenplay, had ever had access to the heirs' script.

Shin Il-su, a senior attorney at law firm Pyeongjeong representing the production companies, called the ruling "a natural decision that clearly confirmed the film's independent creative process and the fundamental differences between the two works," adding that he hoped it would "prevent a chilling effect on creative works based on historical facts."

Earlier, the heirs had raised plagiarism allegations, claiming that key scenes in the film — including Eom Heung-do acting on a secret royal order from Danjong, the depiction of an underground organization called Geomgye, and a prison escape sequence — closely resembled those in the drama series "Eom Heung-do," which aired in the 2000s.

Meanwhile, "The King's Warden" has drawn about 16.88 million admissions, making it the second-highest-grossing domestic release of all time, behind "Roaring Currents" (2014), which drew more than 17.61 million.