Veteran film director Jeong Jin Woo passes away at 88

Veteran South Korean film director Jeong Jin Woo passed away.

According to the film industry and his bereaved family, the director died around 8 PM on February 8 at a nursing hospital in Gangnam District, Seoul. He was 88 years old.

Jeong Jin Woo reportedly suffered a fall while walking his dog approximately two months ago and had been receiving treatment at Soonchunhyang University Hospital. After later contracting COVID-19, his health did not recover.

Born in 1938, the late director made his debut in the early 1960s with the film 'The Only Son' at just over 20 years of age. His notable works include 'Betrayal,' 'A Student Boarder,' 'Oyster Village,' 'Hanging Tree,' 'Shall Cuckoo Sing at Night,' 'Parrot Cries with Its Body,' and 'Red Light, Green Light.' He is widely regarded as one of the key filmmakers who helped lead the renaissance of Korean cinema during the 1960s.

In 1967, he founded the Korean Film Directors Association, and in 1984, he established the Film Welfare Foundation. He also served as chairman of the Motion Picture Artists Association in 1985. 

In recognition of his contributions to culture and the arts, Jeong Jin Woo was awarded a cultural merit honor by the French government at the 'Cannes Film Festival' in 1993. In 2014, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the '51st Grand Bell Awards.' The funeral altar will be set up at Samsung Medical Center in Gangnam, Seoul.