[COVER STORY] 'The Assassin(s)' producers face probe over depiction of Park Chung-hee plotting wife's death

Published Sep 29, 2026 3:55 pm KST

Updated Sep 29, 2026 6:27 pm KST

Film on historical incident at center of political controversy

A poster for the movie "The Assassin(s)" is seen at a theater in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Director Hur Jin-ho's historical thriller "The Assassin(s)" became the top draw over this year's Chuseok holiday, but the movie is facing a growing political dispute and defamation investigation over its depiction of the 1974 shooting that killed then-first lady Yuk Young-soo.

The controversy has spilled into Korea's already deep ideological divide, with conservatives accusing the film of distorting history and liberals defending it as a work of fiction.

The debate escalated and took a legal turn on Tuesday, when a former city councilor from the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) filed a police complaint against the director and producers.

The complaint accuses them of defamation by spreading false information through the film, claiming the movie distorted history by implying that then-President Park Chung-hee, who took power in 1961 through a military coup, was involved in his wife's assassination.

Former First lady Yuk Young-soo stands beside President Park Chung-hee as he writes aboard an aircraft in this undated photo. Courtesy of National Archives of Korea

First lady Yuk Young-soo slumps over in a chair after being fatally shot as presidential security guards scramble to respond to the shooting during a National Liberation Day ceremony at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul, Aug. 15, 1974. Korea Times file

The movie is based on the Aug. 15, 1974, shooting in which Mun Se-gwang, a North Korea-linked Korean resident of Japan, opened fire in an attempt to assassinate Park and fatally shot Yuk.

The plot follows a detective and journalists investigating the attack, and while it avoids direct accusations, it hints at the complicity of government and intelligence officials in the attack. The complaint accuses the filmmakers of implying that Park masterminded it himself.

The story unfolds against the backdrop of strained Korea-Japan relations following the 1973 abduction of liberal political heavyweight Kim Dae-jung, who later served as president from 1998 to 2003. It links its fictional conspiracy to efforts to repair bilateral ties, which had been normalized in 1965.

The movie has faced particular criticism that some younger viewers could have mistaken its fictional scenes for real history.

PPP Rep. Joo Jin-woo was among the most vocal critics, accusing the movie of implying that Park was behind the assassination of his wife.

He called it "a crime that breaks the hearts of the victim's family," rather than a legitimate exercise of cinematic imagination.

Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok, right, leader of the conservative main opposition People Power Party, receives a briefing on the operational readiness of the Marine Corps' 6th Brigade during a visit to the western border island of Baengnyeong in Incheon, Tuesday. Yonhap

PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok called the movie's premise "a truly absurd story," and accused movie critics of a double standard between the handling of liberal and conservative political figures.

"While insulting Park is regarded as 'freedom of expression,' those criticizing former (liberal) President Roh Moo-hyun face police complaints," he wrote on Facebook on Monday. Roh, who was president from 2003 to 2008, died by suicide in 2009 amid an investigation into corruption allegations.

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon said that while censoring films in advance is unconstitutional, commercial movies that distort historical facts for profit still deserve criticism.

"Freedom of expression includes the freedom to criticize," he wrote on Facebook.

The President Park Chung Hee Memorial Foundation also issued a statement, demanding a formal apology from the production company and the suspension of screenings.

"We express deep regret over the distortion of a historical tragedy that inflicted painful damage on former President Park Chung-hee and his family," the foundation said.

The liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), however, pushed back against the conservative criticism, arguing that "The Assassin(s)" should be treated as a work of fiction and that audiences should be left to judge the film themselves.

Rep. Choi Min-hee, a DPK Supreme Council member who also serves on the National Assembly's Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee, defended the film during a committee meeting on Tuesday.

"Isn't filmmaking about creating works of fiction based on historical facts?" Choi said. "Ultimately, it is up to the public to judge the work."

She also questioned the conservative response to the film. "It makes me wonder whether this is why culture and the arts have difficulty flourishing when conservative parties are in power."

DPK spokesperson Rep. Park Sung-joon also accused the conservative PPP of "engaging in political maneuvering over the movie."

DPK Rep. Park Jie-won, who served as presidential chief of staff for Kim Dae-jung, similarly stressed that "The Assassin(s)" is a fictional movie, citing Kim's principle that the government should support artists without interfering in their work.

"All this fuss about it even at the National Assembly will probably end up giving the movie more publicity," Park wrote Monday on social media, encouraging people to see the film.

Online reactions have split along similar lines.

Some viewers argue that films based on real events and real victims carry a responsibility to handle unverified theories carefully, while others say dramatizing open historical questions falls within the bounds of creative license.

The production team addressed the backlash in a statement on Monday, saying the film simply added cinematic imagination and was not made with political intentions.

"This film reconstructs a historical incident from 1974 by drawing on a wide range of publicly available records, combined with cinematic imagination," it said.

The team said it researched declassified documents, books and documentaries before blending real events with fictional characters.

"This film does not try to prove a new historical conclusion, nor does it deny or distort known facts," it added.

Whether influenced by the political controversy or not, the movie dropped to second place on Monday behind "Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub."

Still, "The Assassin(s)" drew about 1.4 million viewers during the four-day Chuseok long weekend alone, and data from the Korean Film Council showed its total audience passed 1.63 million as of Monday.

发布于2026年9月29日下午3:55（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年9月29日韩国时间下午6:27

一部讲述引发政治争议的历史事件的电影

周一，首尔一家影院张贴着电影《刺客》的海报。（韩联社）

许镇浩导演的历史惊悚片《刺客》成为今年中秋节期间最热门的影片，但该片因其对 1974 年导致时任第一夫人陆英秀遇害的枪击事件的描述，正面临日益严重的政治争议和诽谤调查。

这场争议加剧了韩国本已根深蒂固的意识形态分歧，保守派指责这部电影歪曲历史，而自由派则辩称这是一部虚构作品。

周二，这场争论升级并演变成法律纠纷，当时保守派主要反对党人民力量党（PPP）的一名前市议员对导演和制片人提起了警方投诉。

该投诉指控他们通过这部电影散布虚假信息，构成诽谤，声称该电影歪曲历史，暗示当时的总统朴正熙（1961年通过军事政变上台）参与了其妻子的遇刺。

这张未注明日期的照片中，前第一夫人陆英秀站在朴正熙总统身旁，​​总统正在飞机上写作。照片由韩国国家档案馆提供。

1974年8月15日，在首尔国立剧院举行的韩国光复节庆典上，第一夫人陆英秀遭枪击身亡，总统卫队迅速做出反应，她瘫倒在椅子上。（韩国时报档案照片）

这部电影是根据 1974 年 8 月 15 日发生的枪击事件改编的，当时居住在日本的朝鲜人文世光开枪试图刺杀朴槿惠，并击毙了柳承敏。

剧情讲述了一名侦探和几名记者调查这起袭击事件，虽然没有直接指控，但暗示政府和情报官员与袭击事件有关。投诉称，电影制作方暗示朴槿惠是这起袭击事件的幕后主使。

故事的背景是1973年韩国自由派政治重量级人物金大中被绑架后，韩日关系紧张。金大中后来于1998年至2003年担任韩国总统。故事将虚构的阴谋与修复1965年实现关系正常化的双边关系的努力联系起来。

该电影尤其受到批评，一些年轻观众可能会将电影中的虚构场景误认为是真实的历史。

人民进步党议员朱镇宇是批评最激烈的议员之一，他指责这部电影暗示朴槿惠是杀害他妻子的幕后黑手。

他称之为“令受害者家属心碎的罪行”，而不是“合法的电影想象力的运用”。

周二，保守派主要反对党国民力量党党首张东赫（右）在仁川访问西部边境岛屿白翎岛期间，听取了海军陆战队第六旅作战准备情况的汇报。（韩联社）

巴基斯坦人民进步党领导人张东赫称这部电影的前提“真是一个荒谬的故事”，并指责影评人在对待自由派和保守派政治人物时采取双重标准。

“侮辱朴槿惠被视为‘言论自由’，而批评前（自由派）总统卢武铉的人却面临警方投诉，”他周一在脸书上写道。卢武铉于2003年至2008年担任总统，2009年在腐败指控调查期间自杀身亡。

独立议员韩东勋表示，虽然提前审查电影违宪，但为了牟利而歪曲历史事实的商业电影仍然应该受到批评。

“言论自由包括批评的自由，”他在脸书上写道。

朴正熙总统纪念基金会也发表声明，要求制作公司正式道歉并暂停放映。

“我们对歪曲历史悲剧深表遗憾，这场悲剧给前总统朴正熙及其家人造成了痛苦的伤害，”该基金会表示。

然而，韩国自由派执政党共同民主党（DPK）反驳了保守派的批评，认为《刺客》应该被视为一部虚构作品，应该让观众自己来评判这部电影。

朝鲜最高委员会成员、国会文化体育旅游委员会委员崔敏熙议员周二在委员会会议上为这部电影辩护。

“电影制作不就是根据历史事实创作虚构作品吗？”崔说，“最终，作品的评判权还是在公众手中。”

她还质疑了保守派对这部电影的反应。“这让我不禁思考，这是否就是为什么保守党执政时文化艺术难以蓬勃发展的原因。”

民主党发言人朴成俊议员也指责保守的人民进步党“利用这部电影进行政治操纵”。

曾担任金大中总统幕僚长的朝鲜民主主义人民党议员朴智元也强调，《刺客》是一部虚构的电影，并援引金大中的原则，即政府应该支持艺术家，但不应干涉他们的工作。

“即使在国会也引起了如此大的轰动，这最终可能会给这部电影带来更多宣传，”朴槿惠周一在社交媒体上写道，鼓励人们观看这部电影。

网络上的反应也大致如此。

一些观众认为，根据真实事件和真实受害者改编的电影有责任谨慎处理未经证实的理论，而另一些观众则认为，将悬而未决的历史问题戏剧化属于创作自由的范畴。

制作团队周一发表声明回应了外界的强烈反对，称这部电影只是增添了电影想象力，并非出于政治意图。

“这部电影通过参考大量公开记录，并结合电影想象力，重现了 1974 年发生的一起历史事件。”声明中写道。

该团队表示，他们在将真实事件与虚构人物融合之前，研究了解密文件、书籍和纪录片。

“这部电影既不试图证明新的历史结论，也不否认或歪曲已知的事实，”声明补充道。

无论是否受到政治争议的影响，这部电影周一的票房排名下滑至第二位，落后于《老千：别西卜之歌》。

尽管如此，《刺客》仅在四天的中秋长周末就吸引了约 140 万观众，韩国电影振兴委员会的数据显示，截至周一，该片的总观众人数已超过 163 万。