[Anchor]

A political battle surrounding the film "The Assassin(s)" is heating up. While the People Power Party argued that Director Hur Jin-ho, who directed the movie, should be summoned to the parliamentary audit, the Democratic Party of Korea countered that creative freedom must not be infringed upon and even suggested watching the movie together as a group.

Reporter Park Jae-yeon reports.

[Reporter]

At the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on September 29.

The People Power Party demanded that Director Hur Jin-ho, who directed the movie "The Assassin(s)," be summoned to the parliamentary audit room, at least as a reference witness.

[Cho Eun-hee / People Power Party Lawmaker: "If a film took the tragic death of former President Roh Moo-hyun as its subject and suggested theories of behind-the-scenes involvement by his family or close aides, could that be called cinematic imagination?..."]

The ruling party claimed that the film's premise—suggesting another mastermind could be behind the 1974 shooting of former First Lady Yuk Young-soo—constitutes defamation against the deceased and the bereaved family, pointing out there is also precedent from last year's audit where the director of the film "The Birth of Korea" was called as a reference witness.

[Kim Seung-soo / People Power Party Lawmaker: "(Wasn't it made) intentionally so that young teenagers aged 12 might misunderstand this as the truth?"]

Conversely, the Democratic Party made its opposition clear on the grounds of freedom of expression, stating that the dramatization of historical facts falls within the realm of creative work.

[Choi Min-hee / Democratic Party of Korea Lawmaker: "Director Hur Jin-ho has brought entertainment and created such rich cultural artwork for our harsh lives, and even if the National Assembly cannot encourage him..."]

The opposition also argued that evaluating the film is the role of the public rather than politicians, even suggesting a group viewing.

[Jin Sun-mi / Democratic Party of Korea Lawmaker: "How about the committee members go watch the movie together and arrange an opportunity to hold a genuinely serious discussion?"]

As opinions remained sharply divided between "cinematic imagination" and "distortion of historical facts," the motion to adopt Director Hur as a parliamentary audit witness was not approved.

Meanwhile, controversy continues after the Gyeonggi Northern Veterans Support Center, an affiliate of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, promoted free screenings of the film for military veterans and others, only to cancel them following backlash.

Video by Oh Young-choon and Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by Oh Young-taek