[Anchor]

Amid growing controversy surrounding the film "The Assassins," which depicts the fatal shooting of former First Lady Yuk Young-soo, Representative Yoo Young-ha of the People Power Party has disclosed a handwritten letter that former President Park Chung-hee wrote two days after the assassination. Rep. Yoo demanded a halt to screenings, claiming the film distorts history, while the Democratic Party of Korea expressed regret as the situation escalated to threats against the cast and crew.

Park Chan-beom reports.

[Reporter]

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

These are three handwritten pages that former President Park wrote to his daughter, future President Park Geun-hye, who was returning from France at the time.

The letter captures his grief with expressions such as, "Your mother took the fatal bullet meant for your father and passed away," "How wonderful it would have been if I had been shot and your mother had lived," and "My mind goes completely blank when I think of greeting you alone at the front door."

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

He demanded an open apology from the filmmakers and an immediate halt to screenings, stating that the movie defames the late President Park and insults the bereaved family by raising allegations such as the potential involvement of higher-ups in the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) at the time.

[Yoo Young-ha / People Power Party Lawmaker: This letter will serve as a club to strike down the leftist distortion of history that seeks to spread biased conspiracy theories across the world like an epidemic.]

The Democratic Party of Korea issued a commentary expressing regret, noting that the controversy is escalating into personal threats against the cast and crew, with some conservative groups filing rally notices outside the home of an actor who starred in the film.

[Choi Min-hee / Democratic Party Supreme Council Member: The Busan Film Commission announced that it has canceled the preview screening of "The Assassins." What an international embarrassment this is! Is this truly 21st-century Republic of Korea?]

Director Hur Jin-ho, who helmed the movie, has repeatedly clarified through media interviews that "the film contains no claim 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 Gi-tae