Film producers' group warns against personal attacks amid 'The Assassin(s)' controversy

The Korea Film Producers Association has expressed concern as the controversy surrounding "The Assassin(s)" — a film accused of distorting historical facts — has spilled over into personal attacks on its cast and crew.

The association said that regardless of how the film is judged, targeting individual creators simply because they participated in its production, or spreading unverified information about them, is unacceptable.

In a statement issued Thursday, the association said it was "concerned about the situation in which excessive criticism continues to be directed at individual creators — including the production company, director, actors and staff — solely because they were involved in the work."

The association said it is natural for audiences to hold different views and interpretations of works dealing with historical events or real figures. However, it said criticism of a film's portrayal or historical interpretation should remain focused on the work itself.

It said it was particularly undesirable for the debate to move beyond evaluating the film and turn into personal attacks on the production company, director, actors or staff, or to fuel the spread of unverified claims. "We hope that criticism and evaluation of the work will be grounded in facts, and that the creative activities of all those involved will be respected," the association said.

"The Assassin(s)" is based on the events of Aug. 15, 1974, when Moon Se-gwang opened fire on then-President Park Chung-hee during a Liberation Day ceremony, killing first lady Yuk Young-soo. The film follows detectives and journalists investigating the incident and raises, as a cinematic hypothesis, the possibility that there was a second shooter beyond Moon.

Some lawmakers from the People Power Party and conservative groups have called for the film to be pulled from movie theaters, arguing it distorts historical facts. The Yuk Young-soo Memorial Foundation also demanded a halt to screenings on Tuesday, taking issue with the film's treatment of the possibility that Park and the Central Intelligence Agency were involved in the incident.

The filmmakers have maintained that the movie is a dramatic work of fiction that draws on records and materials related to the actual event while adding cinematic imagination.

The backlash has reached those connected to the film. Negative comments flooded the SNS accounts of cast members including Lee Min-ho and Ryu Hye-young, as well as actors who had written endorsements for the film. Protest comments also reportedly appeared on the SNS pages and YouTube advertisements of a company for which cast member Yoo Hae-jin serves as a brand ambassador.

The Korea Film Producers Association, founded in 1994, has been a vocal advocate on issues including copyright protection, freedom of expression and improvements to working conditions in the film industry.