‘Parasite’ Producer Barunson E&A Names Yoonhee Choi As CEO

Parasite producer Barunson E&A has a new CEO.

Yoonhee Choi has stepped in to take over from Gene Hong (Brian) Park and Kwak Sin Ae. She has been with Barunson E&A since 2021, when she was hired as Managing Director and was upped to COO in April last year.

Choi was previously at CJ ENM, serving as head of international sales for films such as the Barunson E&A-produced Oscar winner Parasite and The Spy Gone North and producer of titles such as Seobok, Hard Hit and Nothing Serious.

Barunson E&A’s upcoming slate also includes the next two features from Parasite director Bong Joon-ho and as well as projects from directors Kim Sung-hoon and Um Tae-hwa.

Since October 2022, it has been expanding its global footprint by launching International sales and production / financing arms, securing sales rights to its first non-Korean film, Giddens Ko’s Miss Shampoo, and investing in Indonesian thriller 13 Bombs, directed by Angga Dwimas Sasongko. The company said today it would “aggressively look for more projects around the world to finance and co-produce this year.” That will play into Choi’s skillset.

“Barunson E&A will continue to work with the leading filmmakers in Korea, creating compelling content while our international operations actively seek opportunities to board on global projects with world-renowned and up-and-coming talent, placing no restrictions on format, genre, and language,” said Choi.