The movie about the shooting death of Park Chung-hee's wife causes a stir, conservatives backlash, demonstrations in front of the actor's house - South Korea

[Seoul Jiji] The movie ``Assassins,'' which depicts the 1974 Moon Se-gwang incident, has been released in South Korea and is causing a stir. Concerning the incident in which Moon Se-gwang, a Korean resident in Japan, shot and killed former President Park Chung-hee's wife, Luk Yong-soo, the content suggests that Mr. Park may have been behind the incident. Conservative forces rebelled, and a protest demonstration was held in front of the lead actor's home.

The movie, which was released on September 23, raises suspicions that Moon was not alone in the crime, against the backdrop of Japan-Korea relations, which deteriorated after Kim Dae-jung's abduction in 1973. Immediately after its release, voices arose, mainly on the Internet, accusing it of ``distorting history'' and ``harming human ethics.''

For former President Park Geun-hye, the eldest daughter of Mr. Park Chung-hee and his wife Riku, this movie can be interpreted as showing that her father killed her mother. On the 2nd of this month, Park Geun-hye's side released a letter that Park Chung-hee sent to Park Geun-hye immediately after the incident, emphasizing that the suspicions are groundless.

Criticism escalated, with a conservative member of the main opposition party, People's Power, remarking that lead actor Yoo Hae-jin "looks like a North Korean." According to reports, dozens of members of conservative groups gathered in front of Yoo Hae-jin's home on the 4th, demanding that the screening be canceled and that she apologize. Due to safety concerns, stage greetings for the director and cast were canceled, and participation in the Busan International Film Festival, which opened on the 6th, was also cancelled.

In response, the Korean Film Directors Guild issued a statement saying, ``This is not a criticism of the film, but a personal attack.'' There has been widespread backlash from the perspective of freedom of expression. Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Choi Hui-young pointed out on the 5th, ``There should be no attempt to harm individual performers just because they appear in a work they don't agree with.'' Police strengthened security for the performers on the 6th.

In the film, a newspaper reporter pursuing the truth of the incident mentions the suspicion that ``higher ups'' were involved, but does not specify whether he is referring to Park Chung Hee or the intelligence agency Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA). Furthermore, the focus is on the reporters trying to protect freedom of speech rather than the allegations themselves, with one former progressive lawmaker saying, ``People who haven't actually seen the movie are making a political noise.''

On the other hand, the uproar seems to be more of an advertisement, with the number of spectators reaching approximately 2.47 million as of the 6th.