Megabox Disposes of Entire Stock of Bullet-Hole Movie Tickets Amid Backlash

Megabox has issued an apology over the controversy surrounding the bullet-hole ticket for the movie The Assassin(s) and decided to discard all remaining tickets.

In an apology released in the name of its executives and employees today (October 4), Megabox stated, "We failed to deeply grasp the gravity and weight of historical tragedies and horrific incidents, and we sincerely apologize to those who suffered pain at the time of the incident."

The issue arose from the "Original Ticket" provided on a first-come, first-served basis to audience members of The Assassin(s).

Original Tickets are collectible goods produced in-house by Megabox for each film, affectionately called "O-T" among movie fans.

This particular ticket was designed based on the shooting of First Lady Yuk Young-su, which occurred during the Liberation Day ceremony in 1974.

It was produced by featuring a scene from the ceremony in the film as a background and overlaying a separate transparent material depicting bullet impacts.

This drew criticism, particularly from opposition parties, arguing that it was inappropriate to utilize an actual shooting incident as movie promotional merchandise.

Lawmakers such as Joo Jin-woo of the People Power Party criticized the ticket goods with visible bullet holes as "filial impiety goods" and demanded an apology and complete disposal from Megabox.

As the controversy grew, Megabox also explained the production background.

They stated that the staff produced the merchandise using only limited images provided beforehand without having seen the movie in advance.

While they attempted to highlight the character and content of the movie using scenes and poster images from the film, they acknowledged that they failed to adequately consider the weight of the historical incident.

Megabox announced that it will discard all remaining tickets and establish internal procedures to review the social and ethical impacts on historical events and figures when producing Original Tickets in the future.

The movie The Assassin(s) deals with the 1974 shooting of First Lady Yuk Young-su, and controversies surrounding the film's portrayal of historical facts have continued recently.

Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.