'The Assassin' cancels all 49 post-screening events amid historical distortion controversy

A still from the film "The Assassin" [Hive Media Corp]

Hive Media Corp, the production company behind the film "The Assassin," has canceled all 49 post-screening cast appearances scheduled for Saturday through Monday, citing the historical distortion controversy surrounding the film as an excessive burden on its cast and crew.

Hive Media Corp announced Friday through its official Instagram account that it had decided, after careful review and discussion, to cancel all post-screening events planned for Saturday through Monday.

"We respect the diverse opinions and attention the film has received, and at the same time we are concerned that the situation surrounding it is placing an excessive burden on the cast and crew beyond the work itself," the company said. "This decision was made after careful deliberation, with consideration for protecting those who participated in the film and for the impact on audiences and theater staff who planned to attend."

The company added that it felt a heavy sense of responsibility for the sudden cancellation. "Our hearts are heavy knowing that audiences who set aside time and purchased tickets in anticipation of meeting the cast will be disappointed and inconvenienced," it said, pledging to take care of the cast and crew and to handle audience notifications and follow-up measures responsibly.

The canceled events had been scheduled across 12 theaters in the Greater Seoul area and Busan over three days, totaling 49 appearances.

Directed by Heo Jin-ho, "The Assassin" is a mystery thriller inspired by the shooting of first lady Yuk Young-soo at a Liberation Day ceremony on Aug. 15, 1974. The film stars Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho and opened Sept. 23.

Events related to "The Assassin" have been canceled in quick succession. The Busan Film Commission canceled on Thursday a public preview screening that had been planned for 80 Busan residents on Oct. 5. On the same day, the Busan International Film Festival also canceled a talk show featuring lead actor Lee Min-ho, citing "unavoidable circumstances."

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

Shortly after the film's opening, critics accused it of distorting history by drawing on unverified allegations about actual modern Korean history. People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Young-ha held a press conference at the National Assembly on Friday, saying that former President Park Geun-hye had passed along materials related to the incident after the controversy began. Yoo then revealed a letter written by former President Park Chung-hee in the immediate aftermath of the shooting of first lady Yuk.

The letter read: "The bullet meant for me struck my mother instead. I have thought many times how much better it would have been if I had been hit and my mother had lived."

Yoo called on director Heo and the film's producers to "apologize for damaging President Park's reputation through historical distortion and to publicly apologize to the bereaved family and the public who have been hurt."

Director Heo had appeared Wednesday on the YouTube channel "Bong Ji-wook's Off the Record," where he said the film was not made to suggest that former President Park ordered the killing of first lady Yuk Young-soo. "That would be logically contradictory and implausible," he said, adding that the film explored a cinematic hypothesis based on records of shell casings and bullet trajectories covered in past television documentaries, and that he had no specific political intent.

dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com