South Korean historical thriller The Assassin(s) has crossed 2 million moviegoers at the box office — but its success has been shadowed by a political firestorm. The film's fictional take on the 1974 assassination attempt on President Park Chung Hee has drawn protests, a criminal complaint, rating manipulation, and targeted harassment of its cast, with major Korean film organizations now speaking out in the filmmakers' defense.
What the film depicts — and why it angers conservatives
Directed by Hur Jin Ho and starring Yoo Hae Jin, Park Hae Il, Lee Min Ho and Jung Woo Sung, the film is set around the August 15, 1974 assassination attempt on Park Chung Hee, in which the president survived but First Lady Yuk Young Soo was fatally shot. The gunman, Mun Se Gwang — an ethnic Korean from Japan with pro-North Korean sympathies — was convicted and executed in December 1974.
The film does not simply recreate that account. It uses unanswered questions from the original investigation — missing forensic evidence, unidentified bullets and shell casings discarded after the shooting — to explore the fictional possibility that the KCIA or Park himself was part of a larger plan. Critics, led by South Korea's conservative People Power Party, argue this turns an established historical event into an alternative political narrative that audiences could mistake for fact. Lawmaker Yoo Young Ha called it "an immoral act that hurts the bereaved and betrays history," and the PPP drafted a letter asking the Singapore International Film Festival to withdraw the film as its opening feature.
From criticism to harassment
The debate has moved beyond film criticism. A right-wing civic group led by Kim Sang Jin obtained police permits to hold daily protests outside Yoo Hae Jin's home in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, saying they would continue until the actor agreed to appear in "right-wing films" to balance his filmography. Brands working with Yoo — including Burger King and Kiwoom Securities — were hit by malicious online comments and restricted commenting on their promotional content. His agency, VAST Entertainment, issued a strong statement on October 5 saying slander and falsehoods were being spread "indiscriminately," and that it would take "all possible measures to protect our actor's personal rights and safety."
Other figures have been swept in: Lee Young Ae and Kim Go Eun faced waves of hostile comments after attending the VIP screening, Ryu Hye Young drew boycott calls after calling the film "very fun," and conservative netizens flooded the film's rating pages in what was described as "rating terrorism." Megabox apologized and destroyed a souvenir ticket printed with bullet holes over the ceremony hall from the 1974 shooting. Former Seoul councilor Lee Jong Bae filed a criminal complaint accusing the production head, director and screenwriters of defaming the dead.
Industry pushes back
On October 5, 19 Korean film industry organizations backed statements from the Directors Guild of Korea and the Korean Film Directors Association condemning the attacks as personal defamation rather than criticism. "Creators may face criticism for their work, but such criticism should not escalate to destroying their personal lives or livelihoods," they said. Director Hur Jin Ho has described the film as a "cinematic hypothesis" based on questions the 1974 investigation left behind, calling the interpretation that it accuses Park "illogical." The film's actors withdrew from the Busan International Film Festival opening ceremony on October 7, citing the safety of audiences and attendees.
The takeaway: The Assassin(s) has become a proxy battle over how South Korea remembers its past — and the line between debating a film and destroying the people who made it has become the controversy itself.
🎵 Reel music: Kevin MacLeod - Hitman (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0