Actor Yoo Hai-jin, who attracted 16.9 million moviegoers nationwide earlier this year with "The King's Warden", is returning with a new film, "The Assassin(s)". While his previous work targeted the Lunar New Year holiday, his new project aims straight for the Chuseok holiday.

Attending the press conference for "The Assassin(s)" held at CGV Yongsan in Seoul on the morning of the 10th, Yoo Hai-jin described his character, detective Cheol-gu, saying, "He is a role who runs on foot with the instincts of a police officer and questions about the case. I think he will show a sense of suspense."

"The Assassin(s)" tells the story of tracking the suspicions and background behind the First Lady assassination attempt that shocked South Korea on August 15, 1974. As indicated by the logline, the film is motivated by the assassination attempt on First Lady Yuk Young-soo.

Although it is one of the tragedies of modern history, this is the first time the incident has been made into a film. Yoo Hai-jin stated, "I understand this is the first time an assassination attempt on a First Lady is being adapted into a movie. There will be high expectations because of that, and we worked hard to make it."

It is not an easy subject to handle. Director Hur Jin-ho, who directed the film, shared, "It was an event that happened when I was in the 5th grade of elementary school. While this story has continuously been covered on broadcasts and elsewhere, I became interested in the fact that questions about the incident continue to linger. I kept pondering how to approach it. I paid the greatest attention to maintaining a balanced perspective."

True to the director's words, the movie covers the events of that era from various perspectives through a detective chasing the truth and the press. In particular, detective Cheol-gu, played by Yoo Hai-jin, is a figure who watched the occurrence of the incident from the closest range.

Yoo Hai-jin explained the key points of his acting, saying, "Cheol-gu, whom I played, is a person who was at the scene of the incident and a character digging into what the truth is. I prioritized each emotion, such as when a colleague is wrongfully framed and dragged away, when tracking the case, and when approaching the truth."

As it is his next project following the massive success of "The King's Warden", both expectations and pressure regarding box office performance must be significant. Yoo Hai-jin expressed caution, saying, "Many people unexpectedly watched my movie during last Lunar New Year. I hope 'The Assassin(s)' does too, but box office success seems to require everything falling into place properly."

He revealed his inner thoughts by saying, "Fortunately, audiences are visiting a lot these days, so theaters seem to be full of vitality. I hope our movie makes the theater complexion even healthier."

"The Assassin(s)" is scheduled for release in September during Chuseok.

<Photo = Reporter Baek Seung-chul> 

(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)