Ad campaign ends as 'The Assassin' stirs historical distortion debate

Protest comments, boycott calls spread to actors' endorsement deals

A Kiwoom Securities advertisement featuring actor Yoo Hae-jin. [Kiwoom Securities]
A Kiwoom Securities advertisement featuring actor Yoo Hae-jin. [Kiwoom Securities]

Kiwoom Securities has ended its advertising campaign featuring actor Yoo Hae-jin, raising questions about whether the move is connected to a historical distortion controversy surrounding the film "The Assassin," in which Yoo stars.

Sources in the financial investment industry confirmed Saturday that Kiwoom Securities recently wrapped up the campaign.

"The advertising campaign featuring actor Yoo Hae-jin has ended, and we are preparing a new campaign," a Kiwoom Securities official said.

Comments have also been disabled on Kiwoom Securities' YouTube advertisements featuring Yoo.

The company maintains the campaign ended according to its original schedule. Yoo's modeling contract with the firm is understood to remain in effect despite the campaign's conclusion.

However, analysts say the timing may not be coincidental, as the controversy over "The Assassin" — which critics accuse of distorting history — has spilled over into protests and boycott calls targeting the endorsement activities of the film's cast members.

Protest comments have flooded social media posts and YouTube advertisements for a fast-food brand that also features Yoo, and comment functions on those platforms have since been restricted.

Kiwoom Securities is understood to have signed a one-year modeling contract with Yoo in April, after which the firm ran a series of advertisements featuring him, including promotions for its retirement pension products.

"The Assassin" centers on detectives and journalists investigating the background of the 1974 shooting of first lady Yuk Young-soo. The film sparked the historical distortion controversy by implying a conclusion that differs from the government's official account — that Yuk died from a bullet fired by Zainichi Korean Mun Se-gwang.

The filmmakers have pushed back against the criticism. "This is not a film made to newly establish a specific historical conclusion or to deny or distort existing facts," they said in a statement.


betterj@heraldcorp.com