Faction film's ethics under scrutiny

PPP's Jang Dong-hyeok: 'Is free expression only for the left?'

Production company: 'No specific figure named as mastermind'

A promotional display for "The Assassin" at a movie theater in Seoul [Yonhap]
A promotional display for "The Assassin" at a movie theater in Seoul [Yonhap]

"The Assassin," the film that dominated movie theaters over the chuseok holiday, is racing to the top of the box office — but off-screen, a fierce debate over historical distortion is raging. The film's narrative explores hypothetical theories about who orchestrated the 1974 shooting of first lady Yuk Young-soo, drawing calls from a conservative party and the Park Chung-hee Presidential Memorial Foundation to halt screenings. The production team is pushing back, insisting the film is "a purely creative work free of political intent."

According to the Korean Film Council's integrated ticketing system, "The Assassin" drew more than 1.407 million viewers over the four-day chuseok holiday period from Thursday through Sunday, surpassing the 1 million mark within four days of its opening. Cumulative attendance reached approximately 1.566 million as of Sunday. The film's success reflects the track record of a production team behind modern-history faction hits such as "The Man Standing Next" and "12.12: The Day," combined with the nuanced direction of director Heo Jin-ho and an ensemble cast featuring Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho.

The controversy ignited when the film's dialogue entertained a hypothetical theory — beyond the established account of North Korea and the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan acting alone — that the Park Chung-hee administration or the Korean Central Intelligence Agency may have been behind the Aug. 15, 1974, Liberation Day shooting carried out by Moon Se-gwang.

A still from "The Assassin" [provided by Hive MEDIAcorp]
A still from "The Assassin" [provided by Hive MEDIAcorp]

The People Power Party went on the offensive immediately. Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok said Monday morning on Facebook that touching former President Roh Moo-hyun invites a string of lawsuits, while insulting former President Park Chung-hee is called "freedom of expression." "Is freedom of expression the exclusive domain of the left?" he wrote. PPP lawmaker Ju Jin-woo also weighed in, claiming the film distorted the assassination of Yuk Young-soo to suggest that former President Park, not North Korea, was behind it. "This is not cinematic imagination — it is an immoral crime that breaks the hearts of surviving family members and cannot be justified under the banner of free expression," Ju said, calling for strict punishment.

PPP spokesperson Park Sung-hoon said the film "crosses the line between cinematic imagination and freedom of expression into historical distortion and incitement," while lawmaker Yoo Young-ha criticized it as "blatant political propaganda" that "cleverly twists historical facts to portray former President Park as the true mastermind behind the shooting of the first lady." Broadcaster Hong Hye-geol also posted on social media, saying it was hypocritical to "insult a figure revered by half the population with a forced conspiracy theory while surviving family members are still alive."

The Park Chung-hee Presidential Memorial Foundation issued an emergency statement formally demanding the film be pulled. "We express deep regret over the distortion of a historical tragedy and strongly condemn it," the foundation said, calling on the production company to issue an official apology for distorting historical facts and to halt screenings.

As the backlash intensified, the production team released an official statement Monday afternoon in an attempt to defuse the situation. "'The Assassin' is a dramatic film that draws on the historical events of 1974, adding cinematic imagination to various public records," the team said. "There is absolutely no intention to establish new historical conclusions or distort existing facts." The team added that "nowhere in the film is any specific individual named as the mastermind, nor are the hypotheses presented as historical fact," and urged audiences to "view it as a purely creative work, free of any political purpose beyond the film's own artistic intent."


shee@heraldcorp.com