COVER STORY 'The Assassin(s)' producers face defamation probe over depiction of 1974 first lady assassination
A poster for the movie "The Assassin(s)" is seen at a theater in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
Film on historical incident at center of political controversy
Director Hur Jin-ho's historical thriller "The Assassin(s)" became the top draw over this year's Chuseok holiday, but the movie is facing a growing political dispute and defamation investigation over its depiction of the 1974 shooting that killed then-first lady Yuk Young-soo.
The controversy has spilled into Korea's already deep ideological divide, with conservatives accusing the film of distorting history and liberals defending it as a work of fiction.
The debate escalated and took a legal turn on Tuesday, when a former city councilor from the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) filed a police complaint against the director and producers.
The complaint accuses them of defamation by spreading false information through the film, claiming the movie distorted history by implying that then-President Park Chung-hee, who took power in 1961 through a military coup, was involved in his wife's assassination.
Former First lady Yuk Young-soo stands beside President Park Chung-hee as he writes aboard an aircraft in this undated photo. Courtesy of the National Archives of Korea
First lady Yuk Young-soo slumps over in a chair after being fatally shot as presidential security guards scramble to respond to the shooting during a National Liberation Day ceremony at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul, Aug. 15, 1974. Korea Times file
The movie is based on the Aug. 15, 1974, shooting in which Mun Se-gwang, a North Korea-linked Korean resident of Japan, opened fire in an attempt to assassinate Park and fatally shot Yuk.
The plot follows a detective and journalists investigating the attack, and while it avoids direct accusations, it hints at the complicity of government and intelligence officials in the attack. The complaint accuses the filmmakers of implying that Park masterminded it himself.
The story unfolds against the backdrop of strained Korea-Japan relations following the 1973 abduction of liberal political heavyweight Kim Dae-jung, who later served as president from 1998 to 2003. It links its fictional conspiracy to efforts to repair bilateral ties, which had been normalized in 1965.
The movie has faced particular criticism that some younger viewers could have mistaken its fictional scenes for real history.
PPP Rep. Joo Jin-woo was among the most vocal critics, accusing the movie of implying that Park was behind the assassination of his wife.
He called it "a crime that breaks the hearts of the victim's family," rather than a legitimate exercise of cinematic imagination.
Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok, right, leader of the conservative main opposition People Power Party, receives a briefing on the operational readiness of the Marine Corps' 6th Brigade during a visit to the western border island of Baengnyeong in Incheon, Tuesday. Yonhap
PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok called the movie's premise "a truly absurd story," and accused movie critics of a double standard between the handling of liberal and conservative political figures.
"While insulting Park is regarded as 'freedom of expression,' those criticizing former (liberal) President Roh Moo-hyun face police complaints," he wrote on Facebook on Monday. Roh, who was president from 2003 to 2008, died by suicide in 2009 amid an investigation into corruption allegations.
Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon said that while censoring films in advance is unconstitutional, commercial movies that distort historical facts for profit still deserve criticism.
"Freedom of expression includes the freedom to criticize," he wrote on Facebook.
The President Park Chung Hee Memorial Foundation also issued a statement, demanding a formal apology from the production company and the suspension of screenings.
"We express deep regret over the distortion of a historical tragedy that inflicted painful damage on former President Park Chung-hee and his family," the foundation said.
The liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), however, pushed back against the conservative criticism, arguing that "The Assassin(s)" should be treated as a work of fiction and that audiences should be left to judge the film themselves.
Rep. Choi Min-hee, a DPK Supreme Council member who also serves on the National Assembly's Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee, defended the film during a committee meeting on Tuesday.
"Isn't filmmaking about creating works of fiction based on historical facts?" Choi said. "Ultimately, it is up to the public to judge the work."
She also questioned the conservative response to the film. "It makes me wonder whether this is why culture and the arts have difficulty flourishing when conservative parties are in power."
DPK spokesperson Rep. Park Sung-joon also accused the conservative PPP of "engaging in political maneuvering over the movie."
DPK Rep. Park Jie-won, who served as presidential chief of staff for Kim Dae-jung, similarly stressed that "The Assassin(s)" is a fictional movie, citing Kim's principle that the government should support artists without interfering in their work.
"All this fuss about it even at the National Assembly will probably end up giving the movie more publicity," Park wrote Monday on social media, encouraging people to see the film.
Online reactions have split along similar lines.
Some viewers argue that films based on real events and real victims carry a responsibility to handle unverified theories carefully, while others say dramatizing open historical questions falls within the bounds of creative license.
The production team addressed the backlash in a statement on Monday, saying the film simply added cinematic imagination and was not made with political intentions.
"This film reconstructs a historical incident from 1974 by drawing on a wide range of publicly available records, combined with cinematic imagination," it said.
The team said it researched declassified documents, books and documentaries before blending real events with fictional characters.
"This film does not try to prove a new historical conclusion, nor does it deny or distort known facts," it added.
Whether influenced by the political controversy or not, the movie dropped to second place on Monday behind "Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub."
Still, "The Assassin(s)" drew about 1.4 million viewers during the four-day Chuseok long weekend alone, and data from the Korean Film Council showed its total audience passed 1.63 million as of Monday.