Daejeon caught in controversy over filming permit for 'The Assassin(s)': 'We didn't know the content'

Daejeon city government has found itself unexpectedly embroiled in controversy as a debate over alleged historical distortion in the film "The Assassin(s)" continues to spread, with critics pointing to the city's role in granting filming permits for the production.

According to Yonhap, Daejeon received a cooperation request from the film's production company in July last year and approved shooting at Soje-dong in Dong-gu and the former South Chungcheong Province government building.

The official request submitted by the production company at the time contained only a brief description — "a film depicting South Korea in the 1970s" — with no details about the plot or subject matter, city officials said.

Because the city had no way of knowing the film's specific content at the time, officials said they are now embarrassed to find it has become a political flashpoint over claims of historical distortion.

"When 'Squid Game 2' was filmed in Daejeon, the content was kept strictly confidential as well. Production companies typically do not share plot details," a city official said. "Daejeon approved the filming as it normally would, with the aim of contributing to the local economy."

The controversy deepened when the film was screened as the closing feature of the 8th Daejeon Special Visual Effects Film Festival, which ran from Sept. 17 to Sept. 19.

With a national audit approaching, the National Assembly is pressing the city on a range of questions: how the filming permit came to be granted, whether the city purchased tickets to the closing screening, and whether it provided any administrative support for the screening.

The city said the selection of the closing film was handled in May by the Daejeon Information & Culture Industry Promotion Agency through an outside agency, and that "The Assassin(s)" was chosen because most of its location shooting had taken place in Daejeon. The city added that invitations to the preview were distributed by lottery to residents who applied, and that the city did not purchase any tickets.

"This was something pursued under the previous mayor, who was a People Power Party member. Had we known it would become such a major political and social issue, do you think we would have simply let them film? We would have reviewed it through work reports," a city official said. "As civil servants, we have no choice but to actively support film productions to attract tourists and boost the local economy — so we find ourselves in a very awkward position."

Meanwhile, "The Assassin(s)" follows detectives and journalists tracing the forces behind the 1974 shooting of Yuk Young-soo, the wife of then-President Park Chung-hee. The historical distortion controversy has grown after critics noted that the film implies a conclusion different from the government's official account — that Yuk died from a bullet fired by Zainichi Korean Mun Se-gwang.