"'The Assassin(s)' Director Must Appear at Audit" vs. "Infringement on Creative Freedom"

[Anchor]

Controversy in the political sphere continues over the film 'The Assassin(s).' The People Power Party demanded that the director be summoned to the parliamentary audit, citing historical distortion, while the Democratic Party opposed the move as an infringement on creative freedom, making a counterproposal for lawmakers to watch the film together.

Reporter Park Jae-yeon reports.

[Reporter]

At the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee yesterday (September 29).

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 were made about the tragic death of former President Roh Moo-hyun, raising theories that his family or close aides were behind it, could that truly be called cinematic imagination?..."]

They argued that the film's depiction suggesting another mastermind might have been behind the shooting of former First Lady Yuk Young-soo defames the deceased and the bereaved family, pointing to a precedent from last year's parliamentary audit where the director of the film 'The Birth of Korea' was summoned as a witness.

[Kim Seung-soo / People Power Party Lawmaker: "(Wasn't it made) intentionally so that 12-year-old adolescents could misunderstand this as the truth?"]

On the other hand, the Democratic Party made clear its opposition on the grounds of freedom of expression, stating that dramatizing historical facts belongs to the realm of creative freedom.

[Choi Minhee / Democratic Party Lawmaker: "Director Hur JINHO has provided such entertainment and created such an enriching work of culture and art for our harsh lives, and even if the National Assembly cannot encourage him..."]

They also suggested a group viewing, arguing that evaluating the film is up to the public, not politicians.

[Jin SUNMI / Democratic Party Lawmaker: "How about the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee going to see that film together as a group and creating an occasion to have a genuinely serious discussion?"]

With opinions sharply divided between "cinematic imagination" and "distortion of facts," the proposal to summon director Hur as a witness for the parliamentary audit was not adopted.

Meanwhile, controversy persists as the Northern Gyeonggi Veteran Support Center under the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs promoted free screenings of the film for discharged veterans, but canceled the plan following pushback.

Video by Oh Young-choon and Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by Oh Young-taek
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.