Broadcaster Hong Hye-geol and his wife Yeo Esther. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse)]
Broadcaster Hong Hye-geol and his wife Yeo Esther. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse)]

Hong Hye-geol, a broadcaster and former medical journalist, said he finds the film "The Assassin" uncomfortable.

On Sunday, Hong wrote on his Facebook page that the film was "uncomfortable," questioning whether it was right to "insult a person whom half the population respects or acknowledges, using a forced conspiracy theory, when the bereaved family is still alive."

He added that the double standard was easy to see if one put themselves in the other's shoes. "A script that would never be tolerated when aimed at one's own side gets praised as artistic fiction when it targets the opposing side," he wrote. "That's hypocrisy."

Hong also commented on his own post, noting that a 2025 Gallup survey found 62 percent of the population rated former President Park Chung-hee positively, and that former first lady Yuk Young-soo has been named South Koreans' most beloved first lady in nearly every survey ever conducted.

"The Assassin" is based on the shooting of Yuk Young-soo at a Liberation Day ceremony held at the National Theater in Jangchung-dong, Seoul, on Aug. 15, 1974. The film follows Detective Cheolgu (Yoo Hae-jin), newspaper city desk editor Jaehwan (Park Hae-il) and rookie reporter Yeongil (Lee Min-ho) as they investigate the forces behind the attack. It was directed by Heo Jin-ho.

The special investigation unit at the time concluded that Moon Se-gwang, acting on orders from North Korea and the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, attempted to shoot then-President Park Chung-hee but missed, and that Yuk, who was standing nearby, was struck by a bullet and killed. The film reconstructs the incident in a way that hints at the possible existence of an accomplice and potential involvement at the regime level.

The suggestion sparked a historical distortion controversy online almost immediately after the film's release. People Power Party lawmaker Ju Jin-woo wrote on Facebook on Sunday that the film "distorted the assassination of Yuk Young-soo to suggest the mastermind was not North Korea but former President Park Chung-hee himself," calling it "not artistic imagination but an immoral crime that breaks the hearts of the bereaved family."

Meanwhile, according to the Korean Film Council's integrated ticketing system, "The Assassin," which opened Wednesday, drew 432,352 viewers on Saturday to hold the top spot at the box office, and had accumulated about 1.31 million admissions as of Sunday. The film surpassed 1 million viewers within four days of its release.


dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com