Burger King disables comments on Yoo Hae-jin ad amid 'The Assassin(s)' controversy

The historical-distortion controversy surrounding the film "The Assassin(s)" has spilled over to a commercial featuring one of its lead actors.

As of Wednesday, comments have been disabled on a Burger King advertisement posted to the chain's official YouTube channel featuring actor Yoo Hae-jin.

The move appears to have come after a wave of critical comments targeting Yoo over his role in "The Assassin(s)," a film based on the 1974 shooting of first lady Yuk Young-soo. The advertiser shut down the comment section entirely, preventing users from viewing or posting comments.

Burger King cast Yoo on Sept. 16 to coincide with the launch of its fall menu, capitalizing on his resurgence in popularity following the 10-million-admission film "The King's Warden." The campaign played on his name under the concept "New~haejin."

But "The Assassin(s)" proved to be an unwelcome complication. Directed by Heo Jin-ho — known for lyrical works such as "Christmas in August" and "One Fine Spring Day" — the film is a crime thriller that fictionalizes the Aug. 15, 1974 shooting of first lady Yuk. Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho star in the film.

The controversy centers on the film's treatment of recent history. With surviving family members — including former President Park Geun-hye — still living, the film's suggestion that former President Park Chung-hee was behind the shooting of his own wife has drawn sharp criticism, particularly from political circles, over what critics call a distortion of history.

People Power Party lawmaker Ju Jin-woo criticized the film for "distorting the mastermind behind the assassination of first lady Yuk from North Korea to Park Chung-hee," calling it "a morally depraved crime." Dongyang University Professor Jin Joong-kwon was equally scathing, dismissing the film's premise as "a shoddy conspiracy-theory scenario of rock-bottom intelligence" and saying he would "simply regard it as a case of the actors stepping in something unpleasant."