Members of a conservative group rally in front of actor Yoo Hae-jin's home in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, on Sunday, calling for the suspension of the film "The Assassin(s)" and demanding a public apology from its cast and crew. [Yonhap]
Members of a conservative group rally in front of actor Yoo Hae-jin's home in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, on Sunday, calling for the suspension of the film "The Assassin(s)" and demanding a public apology from its cast and crew. [Yonhap]

The agency representing actor Yoo Hae-jin has vowed to take strong action after he suffered privacy violations amid a historical-distortion controversy surrounding the film "The Assassin(s)."

Conservative groups have been staging rallies outside Yoo's home, demanding the film be pulled from theaters and that its cast and crew issue a public apology.

VAST Entertainment, Yoo's agency, released a statement Monday saying it had confirmed that "defamatory content and false information about our actor Yoo Hae-jin are being recklessly spread and circulated through online communities and social media."

The agency said it views "extremely seriously" all acts involving the creation and distribution of false information, malicious personal attacks and insults, as well as any conduct that invades the actor's privacy, threatens his personal safety or damages his reputation. It added that it is "continuously collecting related posts and materials" and will "take all possible measures to protect the rights and safety of our actor from such illegal acts."

The agency went on to say it will "continue to monitor acts that infringe on our actor's rights and safety, and will take necessary action on any confirmed cases."

"The Assassin(s)" follows investigators tracing the masterminds behind the 1974 assassination attempt on Yuk Young-soo, the wife of then-President Park Chung-hee. Yoo plays a detective, Park Hae-il plays a newspaper city desk editor and Lee Min-ho plays a rookie reporter.

While the film stops short of naming a definitive culprit, some scenes depict characters raising the hypothesis that Park Chung-hee's inner circle or the Korean Central Intelligence Agency may have planned the attack — prompting criticism from some quarters that the film distorts history.

The filmmakers said the film "was not made to newly establish a specific historical conclusion or to deny or distort established facts."

The controversy has continued to spread. Comment sections on YouTube advertisements featuring Yoo for a fast-food brand and a brokerage firm were disabled after a flood of protest comments.

Production company Hive MEDIAcorp canceled film-related events, including an outdoor greeting session at the Busan International Film Festival.


mss@heraldcorp.com