[Anchor]

Amid escalating controversy surrounding the film "The Assassin(s)," which depicts the fatal shooting of First Lady Yuk Young-soo, a handwritten letter sent by former President Park Chung-hee to his daughter, former President Park Geun-hye, following the incident has been made public. Representative Yoo Young-ha of the People Power Party, who released the letter, called the movie an outright distortion of history and urged an immediate halt to its screenings. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party expressed regret over the situation escalating into threats against the actors and production crew.

Reporter Park Chan-beom reports.

[Reporter]

On August 17, 1974, two days after former President Park Chung-hee's wife, First Lady Yuk Young-soo, was shot and killed.

These are three handwritten letters former President Park Chung-hee wrote to his daughter, former President Park Geun-hye, who was returning home from France.

They capture his feelings at the time, containing remarks such as "Your mother departed after taking the fatal bullet meant for your father," "How good it would have been if I had been hit and your mother had lived," and "My heart goes dark when I think of greeting you at the entrance all alone."

Representative Yoo Young-ha of the People Power Party stated that former President Park Geun-hye handed over the previously undisclosed letters in the wake of the controversy over historical distortion in the film "The Assassin(s)."

He also demanded a public apology from the film's production crew and a halt to its screenings, arguing that the movie defamed former President Park Chung-hee and insulted the bereaved family by raising possibilities such as the involvement of "higher-ups in the Korean Central Intelligence Agency at the time."

[Yoo Young-ha / People Power Party Lawmaker: "This letter will serve as a club to correct historical distortion by leftists who seek to spread biased conspiracy theories across the world like an epidemic."]

The Democratic Party issued a commentary expressing regret, noting that the controversy is escalating into threats against individual actors and crew members, with some conservative groups filing rally notices in front of the home of an actor who appeared in the film.

[Choi Minhee / Democratic Party Supreme Council Member: "The Busan Film Commission announced that it has canceled the preview screening of 'The Assassin(s).' What kind of global embarrassment is this? Is this really 21st-century South Korea?"]

Director Hur JINHO, who directed the film, has repeatedly clarified through media interviews and other appearances, stating, "There is no content in the film showing that former President Park Chung-hee ordered the killing of First Lady Yuk Young-soo."

(Video by Lee Seung-hwan and Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Yoon Tae-ho | Graphics by Yang Ki-tae)