Film 'The Assassins' draws backlash over alleged distortion of 1974 shooting of Yuk Young-soo

A film depicting the 1974 shooting of Yuk Young-soo, wife of former President Park Chung-hee, has drawn mounting criticism over what critics call a distortion of historical fact.

People Power Party lawmaker Ju Jin-woo called for the punishment of those responsible for "The Assassins," saying the film misrepresents the historical record.

Ju wrote on Facebook on Sunday that the film portrays former President Park Chung-hee, rather than North Korea, as the mastermind behind the assassination of Yuk. "Would it also be freedom of expression if a film came out claiming that former President Roh Moo-hyun's death was orchestrated by his wife, Kwon Yang-suk?" he wrote. "What the film 'The Assassins' has done is an outrage against all humanity."

He added that the film amounted to "not cinematic imagination, but an immoral crime that breaks the hearts of the bereaved family," and said it had concealed "the historical truth that it was an act of North Korean terrorism."

Citing past remarks by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, Ju argued that Kim had personally apologized for the incident in which Yuk was killed during an attempt to assassinate President Park. "It was a confession that North Korea was behind it," he said.

Ju also argued that the film's content constitutes defamation of the deceased.

"Has everyone forgotten how President Park and his children wept uncontrollably at the death of Yuk Young-soo?" he said. "This clearly constitutes criminal defamation of the dead. It cannot be justified under the guise of freedom of expression and must be strictly punished."

Hong Hye-geol, a broadcaster and former medical journalist, also criticized the film on his social media on Sunday. "I find 'The Assassins' uncomfortable," he wrote. "Is it right to insult a deceased person respected or acknowledged by half the population through a forced conspiracy theory, when the bereaved family is still alive?"

"The Assassins," directed by Heo Jin-ho and starring Yoo Hae-jin and Park Hae-il, is a mystery thriller exploring the background and allegations surrounding the shooting of Yuk Young-soo at a Liberation Day ceremony on Aug. 15, 1974. The film surpassed 1 million admissions within four days of its Sept. 23 opening and had drawn a cumulative audience of about 1.56 million as of Sunday.

The special investigation unit that examined the shooting concluded that Moon Se-gwang, acting on orders from North Korea and the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, known as Chongryon, had attempted to shoot President Park during his Liberation Day address but missed, with the bullet instead striking Yuk, who was seated beside him. She died from her wounds.

Moon was executed at Seoul Detention Center on Dec. 20 of that year.