During the parliamentary audit of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) and the Korea Media Rating Board (KMRB) held by the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee today (October 7), the ruling and opposition parties clashed over the film 'The Assassin(s)'.

The People Power Party questioned whether the grounds for giving 'The Assassin(s)' a rating for viewers aged 12 and older were appropriate, while the Democratic Party countered that it was political interference.

Citing the rating classification decision report for 'The Assassin(s)', People Power Party Representative Jeong Yeon-uk pointed out, "While it states that 'youth aged 12 and older can accept it based on knowledge and experience gained in school and without undermining the foundations of education,' the assassination of former First Lady Yuk Young-soo has never been included in textbooks over the past 50 years."

He then asked, "It is an incident that has never even been taught, so on what school knowledge and experience did they judge it to be acceptable?"

Representative Yoon Yong-geun of the same party also remarked, "Can fifth to sixth graders in elementary school accept this level of violence and profanity without shock?" adding, "Are the verbal violence standards in educational settings and the youth protection standards of the KMRB completely different?"

In response to such criticism, KMRB Chairman Kim Byung-jae replied, "Within the scope of preserving the independence and autonomy of the committee members, we will classify ratings as carefully as possible to protect youth."

He added, "I believe whether historical events are true or false should be addressed in another domain," noting, "There are limits to determining the truth with the current system."

On the other hand, Democratic Party Representative Cho Gye-won emphasized, "Watching and interpreting a film can vary depending on the audience, and those who produce films have the freedom of creation," adding, "No one has the right to artificially intervene and obstruct that judgment."

He continued, "Even in the film industry, the view is that 'creation is creation, creation is not completely identical to the truth, and interpretation is up to the audience.'"

Regarding the controversy over historical distortion, KOFIC Chairman Han Sang-jun replied, "I believe there is concern that it could dampen the freedom of creation," adding, "It is true that I am concerned it might dampen the film industry, which is currently recovering."

(Photo: Yonhap News)