'The director and crew must comply with our demands — we will pursue every legal option available'

People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Young-ha holds a press conference at the National Assembly's media center on Friday to announce his position on the film "The Assassin." [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Young-ha holds a press conference at the National Assembly's media center on Friday to announce his position on the film "The Assassin." [Yonhap]

A handwritten letter that the late President Park Chung-hee sent to his daughter, former President Park Geun-hye, was made public Friday amid mounting backlash — centered largely among opposition figures — over the film "The Assassin" and its portrayal of the fatal shooting of the late first lady Yuk Young-soo.

People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Young-ha held a press conference at the National Assembly that day to reveal the letter, which Park Chung-hee wrote shortly after Yuk was shot. "The bullet meant for your father was taken by your mother instead," the letter read. "I have thought again and again about how much better it would have been if I had been the one struck and your mother had lived."

The letter continued: "Your mother took the bullet in my place and left your father with all responsibility for you children and for this country. At first, it felt as though the sky had collapsed and I truly could not compose myself — but I resolved that I must be the first to find courage, and from now on I have decided to endure and bear everything. You, too, must steel your heart and endure as much as you can."

Park also wrote: "Now you must take on the role your mother played." He added, "Though your father may not be able to fill even a fraction of your mother's place, I will make whatever sacrifice it takes to be a good father."

Explaining why he chose to release the letter, Yoo said Park Geun-hye had passed along materials she had kept relating to the incident after the controversy began.

"This is a handwritten letter that Park Chung-hee sent to Park Geun-hye — who was then on her way back from France after hearing the tragic news — expressing his feelings at the time," Yoo said. "It is a letter that has never once been made public until now."

Yoo sharply criticized what he described as historical distortion, saying the letter "will serve as a cudgel to correct the left's distortion of history — a distortion driven by a desire to spread biased conspiracy theories through society like a plague."

Addressing director Heo Jin-ho and the film's producers, Yoo demanded they "apologize for damaging the reputation of President Park through historical distortion and publicly apologize to the bereaved family and the people who have been hurt." He also called on them to "take responsible action, including halting the film's screening," adding that "the director and crew must comply with our demands."

After the press conference, Yoo told reporters he would "pursue every legal option available."


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