Opposition chair steps up attack against 'The Assassin(s)'

Lawmakers of the right-wing People Power Party claimed Monday that the controversial South Korean political thriller "The Assassin(s)" had perpetrated a distortion of established historical facts about the death of a former first lady.

The lawmakers made the claims during a visit to the birthplace of Yuk Young-soo in Okcheon-gun, North Chungcheong Province. Yuk, assassinated in 1974, was the wife of former right-wing President Park Chung-hee.

The lawmakers say the film has distorted established historical facts that a North Korean agent in 1974 assassinated Yuk.

"The left-wing camp’s attempts to disparage former presidents like Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee amount to a denial of South Korea’s foundation and industrialization, and the movie 'The Assassin(s)' is just an example," Jang told reporters during his visit there Monday.

"Leaving such historical distortion unchecked will pose a threat to liberal democracy. We must use this opportunity to clearly demonstrate the adverse consequences that follow such a distortion of history," he said.

This marks the latest offensive of conservatives targeting the film that has attracted over 2 million moviegoers in the country and is set to premiere in Southeast Asia later this month, as well as its actors, the production team and investors.

The movie revolves around a mystery surrounding the assassination. Mun Se-gwang, a Korean resident of Japan, was caught at the scene of the assassination in August 1974. His ties with a leftist group were revealed and he was executed in December the same year. But a discrepancy between the shots that Mun actually fired and the number of gunshots heard has long been at the heart of speculations over what really happened.

Conservatives claim that the film implies that the power apparatus behind former President Park could have been behind his wife's assassination, which constitutes "an insult to Park" through the distortion of established fact.

Rep. Park Duk-hyum, another People Power Party lawmaker who serves as the deputy speaker of the National Assembly, said Monday South Korea should "immediately halt the screening of the film that has incited social division and controversy over historical distortion."

The four-term lawmaker also called for a sincere apology to the bereaved family and the public and a clear distinction between historical fact and cinematic fiction.

Meanwhile, the political row over "The Assassin(s)" may spill over to the upcoming Singapore International Film Festival or potentially other film festivals that are set to screen the South Korean political thriller.

The SGIFF previously announced plans to open the festival with the film on Oct. 21.

The People Power Party has been working to submit a petition to the SGIFF to urge the festival not to proceed.

Led by Rep. Joo Jin-woo, the opposition lawmakers are joining forces to collectively send a letter demanding the SGIFF reverse its decision.

"We are seeing almost all the (People Power Party) lawmakers joining except for just a few," a People Power Party lawmaker with knowledge of the matter said Monday on condition of anonymity.

The People Power Party has 109 lawmakers out of the 299 at the National Assembly.

This followed Joo's Facebook post Sunday saying that the letter would be sent in the name of "all People Power Party lawmakers" to "not allow a distorted film that covers up North Korea's atrocious acts of assassination to be screened in other countries."

Joo added the letter could also be sent to other countries hosting film festivals, such as Brazil.

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea blasted the main opposition party's actions of stigmatizing cultural expression as being close to censorship.

"The Democratic Party of Korea will spare no support to ensure that creators can imagine without limits, the public can freely enjoy and evaluate works, and our culture and arts can reach out to the wider world. We will not use political power to suppress culture and arts, as the People Power Party does," Rep. Son Myoung-soo, a Democratic Party lawmaker, said in a statement Monday.