On ruling-party criticism: 'Why did the Starbucks incident happen?'
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok visited the birthplace of the late Yuk Young-soo on Monday, continuing his criticism of "The Assassin," a film depicting the shooting death of the former first lady.
After laying flowers at the birthplace in Okcheon-gun, North Chungcheong Province, Jang said, "Artistic imagination must stop in the face of clear historical fact." He added that layering unverified allegations with malicious intent onto the wounds of the deceased and her family distorts historical fact and goes beyond the bounds of freedom of expression.
Jang said the left-wing camp had long sought to distort accounts of certain figures and events. "Distorting some events while attempting to place others beyond criticism is a malicious effort to exploit even history for political ends," he said.
He added that the left's efforts to defame and disparage former presidents Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee amounted to a denial of South Korea's founding and industrialization. "'The Assassin' is a film that sits squarely at that level," he said. "If we allow this kind of historical distortion to go unchecked, it will become a threat to liberal democracy. We must make clear this time what consequences historical distortion brings."
Responding to ruling-party criticism of the PPP's offensive against the film, Jang pushed back: "If every historical fact and every work of art should be left to public judgment, why did the Starbucks incident happen?" He added that trying to silence even historical distortion "is itself just another framing."
Accompanying Jang on the visit were National Assembly Vice Speaker Park Deok-heum, whose constituency includes Okcheon-gun; policy committee chairwoman Lim Yi-ja; secretary-general Jeong Hui-yong; lawmaker Yoo Sang-bum; party leader chief of staff Park Jun-tae; political affairs director Kim Jang-gyeom; senior spokespersons Park Sung-hoon and Park Chung-kwon; supreme council member Jo Gwang-han; and former Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo.
Vice Speaker Park said, "The distorted historical perception a film leaves behind is remembered by everyone for generations." He called on the film's producers and distributor to stop hiding behind the phrase "cinematic imagination," apologize to the bereaved family and the public wounded by the historical distortion, and immediately halt screenings.
Meanwhile, the PPP plans to send a letter to the Singapore International Film Festival requesting that "The Assassin" be withdrawn as its opening film. All PPP lawmakers will be listed as signatories.
soho0902@heraldcorp.com
