Critic Lee Dong-jin Addresses Controversy Over 'The Assassin(s)' Review: 'Criticism Should Be Based on the Entire Film'

Film critic Lee Dong-jin has spoken out regarding the controversy surrounding his review of the movie "The Assassin(s)".

On September 30, Lee posted an article titled "A Word to You" on his blog, "Lee Dong-jin's Movie Landscape - Always Like a Movie." He explained the background, stating, "Yesterday afternoon, I received word from the production team of 'B tv Lee Dong-jin's Piaquia' that controversies over the movie 'The Assassin(s)' were persisting, and they requested to set the review video uploaded on September 25 to private. The video has since been made private."

He continued, "In that video, I shared my views by pointing out both the film's level of completion and its strengths and weaknesses, but one specific passage has been quoted out of context, fueling ongoing controversy." Regarding the context of his remarks, Lee explained, "It was part of explaining how the film handles questions that are not readily resolved by official announcements at the time, including the whereabouts and locations of the bullets fired at the National Theater on August 15, 1974." He drew a line, stating, "This did not mean that every hypothesis raised by the movie is true. It had nothing to do with the claim that President Park Chung-hee was behind the shooting of First Lady Yuk Young-su."

While noting that he understands audiences can read different implications from the same film, Lee emphasized, "I saw that the claim that President Park Chung-hee was behind the assassination of First Lady Yuk Young-su was not contained in the movie's dialogue or scenes." Addressing the criticism asking how such a conspiracy theory could be raised while the bereaved family members are still alive, he countered, "It is difficult to accept because it attacks by assuming a non-existent claim." He further stressed, "What I discussed in the review were the questions raised by the film and the way those questions were dramatically structured, not an assertion pinning the responsibility for the assassination on a specific individual."

Lee stated, "If there is a debate about this film, I hope it takes place after watching the entire movie. I also hope criticisms of my review will be based on the overall context of what I said. Over the past 30 years of film criticism, I have alternately faced criticism from people with opposing stances depending on the work," adding that his current view has nothing to do with his personal stance on South Korea's current political situation.

He concluded by adding, "My cinematic judgment regarding 'The Assassin(s)' remains the same today. I have no intention of retracting or apologizing for the evaluation I made in that review. I wanted to clearly leave a record of what I said and what I did not say."

Released on September 23, "The Assassin(s)" depicts the story tracking suspicions and the mastermind behind the assassination of the First Lady that took place on August 15, 1974, and has faced criticism for allegedly distorting history.

(Photo: Yonhap News) (Reported by Kang Kyung-yoon, SBS Entertainment News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.