“We need to call the director”, “censorship of ideas”... Culture and Sports Committee's 'assassin(s)' witness battle

“The intention was to exclude former President Park from being behind the scenes”… Lee Jae-jeong "Creator summons not allowed"

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Gyeong-joon = On the 7th, the ruling and opposition parties were engaged in a battle even before the inquiry over the issue of adopting as witnesses a person related to the movie 'Assassin(s)', which was controversial for distorting history, centering on the conservative camp, during the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee's audit of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The main opposition party, the People Power Party, said that director Jin-ho Huh and others should be called as witnesses because the production team was trying to plant a wrong perception of history, while the ruling Democratic Party of Korea opposed it, saying it was suppressing creative freedom.

People Power Party lawmaker Kim Seung-soo said, "There are a lot of people who are curious about the circumstances of the film's production and the intention of maliciously editing the content," and added, "Nevertheless, while not a single witness or reference has been adopted, director Heo and the screenwriter must be adopted as witnesses."

Rep. Kim Seok-gi of the same party also raised his voice, saying, "The whole country is in an uproar over the controversy over the movie's distortion of history," and added, "Shouldn't we call in (the director, etc.) and ask them why they tried to create such a wrong perception of history?"

In response, Democratic Party lawmaker Noh Jong-myeon said, "I can see the director's intention to exclude President Park Chung-hee as being behind (the attack and death of First Lady Yuk Young-soo)," and asked, "Viewers have their own judgments, so is it possible to summon the creator to the National Assembly and interrogate him?"

Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Min-hee said, “The Office of the Inspector General is not a place to censor ideas, nor is it a place to suppress the freedom of cultural and artistic creation,” and added, “After focusing on the movie, I think (the claim of distorting history) is an absurd point, so I am opposed to the adoption of witnesses.”

As the battle continued over this, Lee Jae-jeong, chairman of the Democratic Party's Culture and Culture Committee, began to organize things, saying, "It is not appropriate to talk about the contents of the movie at the National Assembly Inspection."

Chairman Lee emphasized, “Even if the secretaries of both parties agree to bring the creator to the National Assembly to check the contents of the movie, the chairman cannot allow it.”