[Anchor]

Controversy is mounting over the film 'The Assassin(s)', which drew 1.4 million moviegoers during this Chuseok holiday alone. The conservative opposition has pushed back against the film dealing with the fatal shooting of former First Lady Yuk Young-soo, calling it a "distortion of history." With the President Park Chung-hee Memorial Foundation also demanding that screenings be halted, the production team stated that the film is a creative work that incorporated cinematic imagination.

Reporter Kim Bo-mi reports.

[Reporter]

[Film 'The Assassin(s)': "On the day of the incident, six gunshots rang out at the ceremony hall. Whose gun fired the remaining two?"]

The film 'The Assassin(s)' is inspired by the fatal shooting of Yuk Young-soo, wife of former President Park Chung-hee, which occurred during a National Liberation Day ceremony on August 15, 1974.

Questioning the government's announcement at the time that Mun Se-gwang, a Korean resident in Japan, carried out the crime under orders from North Korea via Chongryon (the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan), the film draws upon suspicions long raised by the press, including allegations of involvement by the former Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA).

The title, which places the plural suffix "-(s)" in parentheses, implies the film's message that Mun Se-gwang might not have been the sole shooter.

[Hur Jinho / Director of 'The Assassin(s)': "Because there were so many other forces behind this incident, or so many lingering questions...."]

However, some viewers responded with reactions such as, "Are they saying it was a staged plot by former President Park Chung-hee?" and "This crosses the line," while the People Power Party issued impassioned statements condemning it as a "distortion of history."

Party Leader Jang Dong-hyeok called it "an absurd story alleging that former President Park was behind it," adding, "It is on par with remaking a North Korean propaganda film." Representative Yoo Young-ha, a close confidant of former President Park Geun-hye, posted on social media that it was an "immoral act driving a spike into the hearts of the bereaved family."

Some lawmakers also argued that those involved in the film should be summoned as witnesses for the National Assembly audit.

While criticizing the film, the Reform Party took the stance that it should be "left to the collective intelligence of the public."

Today (September 28), the President Park Chung-hee Memorial Foundation demanded a halt to screenings, saying, "The fact that Mun Se-gwang received directives from Chongryon officials is documented in the investigation and trial records."

Director Hur Jinho, who helmed the film, previously stated prior to its release, "I agonized a lot because it is a sensitive subject," and noted that "we did not draw any specific conclusion."

[Hur Jinho / Director of 'The Assassin(s)': "Rather than reaching a specific conclusion, I think it is a film that continuously raises questions about the unresolved issues of what actually happened."]

Today, the film's production team released a statement saying, "We reconstructed the story with cinematic imagination based on a historical event," asking audiences to "view it purely as a creative work without political intent."

(Video by Jeon Mingyu | Design by JUNHO)