[Anchor]
Debate has erupted in the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee over the film "The Assassin(s)," which deals with the assassination of First Lady Yuk Young-soo. The People Power Party demanded that the film's director appear at the parliamentary audit, while the Democratic Party of Korea countered that this infringes on creative freedom and even proposed that lawmakers watch the movie together as a group.
Park Jae-yeon reports.
[Reporter]
Yesterday (September 29) at the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee.
The People Power Party demanded that director Hur JINHO, who directed the film "The Assassin(s)," be summoned to the parliamentary audit, even if only as a witness.
[Cho Eun-hee / People Power Party Lawmaker: "If a film was based on the tragic death of former President Roh Moo-hyun and raised conspiracy theories about his family or close aides being behind it, could that really be called cinematic imagination?..."]
They claimed that the film's suggestion of another possible mastermind behind the assassination of First Lady Yuk Young-soo defames the deceased and the bereaved family, pointing to the precedent of adopting the director of the film "The Birth of Korea" as a witness during last year's parliamentary audit.
[Kim Seung-soo / People Power Party Lawmaker: "(Wasn't it) intentionally made so that young adolescents as young as 12 could misunderstand this as the truth?"]
On the other hand, the Democratic Party made clear its opposition based on freedom of expression, arguing that adapting historical facts falls within the realm of creative freedom.
[Choi Minhee / Democratic Party of Korea Lawmaker: "Even if the National Assembly cannot encourage director Hur JINHO, who provided such entertainment and created such an enriching cultural and artistic work for our tough lives..."]
They also suggested a group screening, saying that judging the film is up to the public, not the political sphere.
[Jin SUNMI / Democratic Party of Korea Lawmaker: "How about the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee going to see the film together as a group and creating an occasion to have a truly serious discussion?"]
With opinions sharply divided between "cinematic imagination" and "distortion of facts," director Hur was not adopted as a witness for the parliamentary audit.
Meanwhile, controversy continues after the Gyeonggi Northern Support Center for Discharged Soldiers under the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs promoted free screenings of the film for discharged veterans and others, only to cancel them following backlash.
Video by Oh Young-choon, Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by Oh Young-taek
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