Movie "The Assassins" Sparks Controversy Over Yuk Young-soo Shooting Plot

The movie "The Assassins," which deals with the 1974 shooting of First Lady Yuk Young-soo, is maintaining strong box office momentum following its release, while views on the settings within the film remain sharply divided.

Directed by Hur Jin-ho and starring actors Yoo Hai-jin and Park Hae-il, "The Assassins" is a mystery thriller that explores the background and various suspicions surrounding the Yuk Young-soo shooting incident.

Drawing public attention by surpassing 1 million moviegoers just four days after its release, the film has faced continuous criticism that its plot distorts historical facts.

People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo posted on social media, criticizing that "the movie distorts the background of the Yuk Young-soo assassination as if it were orchestrated by former President Park Chung-hee rather than North Korea," and adding, "As this constitutes an unfilial crime and defamation of the deceased, it must be strictly punished."

Lawmaker Joo noted that former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had previously apologized directly for the incident, pointing out that the film attempts to conceal the historical truth that it was the work of North Korea.

The ruling party leadership and other lawmakers also joined in.

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyck raised fairness issues, stating, "While strict standards are applied to former President Roh Moo-hyun or specific historical events, insults against former President Park Chung-hee are being packaged as freedom of expression."

Lawmaker Kang Myoung-gu similarly defined the film as "propaganda based on absurd conspiracy theories."

Concerns were also raised in the cultural and broadcasting sectors.

Hong Hye-geol, a broadcaster and former medical journalist, pointed out, "Is it right to insult the deceased with far-fetched conspiracy theories while the bereaved family is still alive?" and criticized, "Scripts that would never be tolerated within one's own political camp are praised as fiction pursued by art when directed at the opposite camp. It is double standards."

As if anticipating such controversy, director Hur Jin-ho had explained even before the film's release that "this work does not conclude the mastermind behind the actual incident, but rather a mystery drama that pursues the questions remaining from the investigation at the time through cinematic imagination."

With the clash between the claim of cinematic imagination and the counterargument that it is a clear historical distortion, the controversy surrounding the movie is expected to continue for a while.

(Photo courtesy of Yonhap News)
Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Kim Min-ji | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.