S. Korean Culture Minister calls threats against The Assassin(s) cast an attack on democracy

SEOUL – South Korean Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young on Oct 5 condemned a protest held outside the home of actor Yoo Hae-jin over the historical thriller The Assassin(s).

Chae said he had asked the police to protect the film’s cast and crew, and to strictly enforce the law against intimidation.

“People are free to judge a film, but threatening the safety of its creators destroys democracy,” he wrote on social media on Oct 5.

His comments came a day after about 50 members of conservative civic groups gathered near a house in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, believed to belong to Yoo, who plays the lead role in the film.

The protesters demanded that the film stop screening, and that its producers and cast apologise. The crowd size is an unofficial police estimate cited by local media.

The film, directed by Hur Jin-ho, opened on Sept 23. It dramatises the 1974 assassination attempt on then President Park Chung-hee that killed then First Lady Yuk Young-soo instead.

Conservative politicians and groups have accused it of distorting history and insulting Yuk’s surviving family, who include former president Park Geun-hye. The production team has said the film is fiction and does not try to establish a new historical conclusion.

Chae said debate over how the film interprets history is natural and healthy in a democratic society.

But he said it was “deeply concerning and can never be tolerated” when criticism goes so far that people gather outside an actor’s home, intrude on his daily life and threaten his safety.

The minister also emphasised the arm’s-length principle, the policy that the government funds the arts without interfering in their content.

He said demands for the state to step in or use its administrative power against a work because people dislike it amount to “a dangerous call to return to the era of prior censorship, which the Constitution prohibits”.

“If a work involves defamation or other legal problems, the matter can be settled after its release through civil suits or criminal proceedings,” Chae said. “No one should go to an actor’s home to spread fear or try to harm him simply because he appeared in a work they disagree with.”

The film industry also spoke out on Oct 5.

A coalition of 19 groups representing fields from production and directing to distribution and labour issued a joint statement expressing deep concern that the controversy had spread to “the daily lives and safety of individuals”.

The coalition said debate over a film about a real historical event is legitimate, and that the pain of bereaved families must also be respected.

But, it said, “criticism of a work and pressure on individuals must be clearly distinguished”, and it asked the public to “help ensure the debate does not turn against people”.

Earlier on Oct 5, Yoo’s agency, Vast Entertainment, said it considered “any act that invades the actor’s privacy, threatens his safety or damages his reputation” to be very serious.

That includes making up and spreading false information, malicious personal attacks and insults. The agency said it was still collecting evidence and would “take every possible measure to protect the rights and safety of our artiste from illegal acts”.

Pressure on the film had already disrupted its promotion. Production company Hive Media cancelled its second-week stage greetings in the Seoul area and Busan, which had been set for Oct 2 to 5.

The Busan International Film Festival also cancelled events that Hur, Yoo and actors Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho were to attend, including Lee’s Actor’s House session on Oct 7.

On Oct 1, the festival cited “unavoidable circumstances”.

The Assassin(s) passed 2.23 million admissions as at Oct 3, its 11th day in theatres, according to the Korean Film Council. THE KOREA HERALD/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK