As a historical-distortion controversy surrounding the film "Assassins" spread into boycott campaigns and protests outside the homes of its cast members, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the film industry voiced concern over actions infringing on the actors' safety and privacy. The film held the top spot at the box office, drawing a cumulative 2.41 million viewers as of its 13th day in theaters.
Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young said on his social media account on the 5th that he had "today strongly requested that the National Police Agency and other relevant authorities take protective measures for the film's staff and cast and enforce the law strictly against illegal acts such as threats and intimidation outside their residences."
Choi said that "while everyone is free to assess a film, threatening the personal safety of creators is the destruction of democracy," adding that "if criticism of a film goes beyond all bounds to the point of staging protests in front of an actor's home, intruding on an individual's daily life and threatening their safety, that can never be tolerated."
On calls to halt screenings of "Assassins," he drew a line, saying that "demanding the government intervene in advance or pass judgment through administrative power simply because one dislikes the content of a work is a dangerous demand to return to the era of prior censorship, which the Constitution prohibits." He added that "if a work involves defamation or legal problems, the proper course is to seek a rigorous ruling from the judiciary through civil litigation or criminal proceedings after its release."
He stressed, however, that criticism of the work itself poses no problem, saying that "criticism and debate over the historical interpretation or perspective a film presents is natural and healthy in a democratic society."
Earlier, VAST Entertainment, the agency representing actor Yoo Hae-jin, said it had "confirmed that slander and false information about our actor Yoo Hae-jin are being indiscriminately circulated and spread through online communities and social media." The agency said it "takes an extremely serious view of the creation and spread of false information about our actors, malicious personal attacks and insults, as well as any act that invades an actor's privacy, threatens their personal safety or damages their reputation."
It added that it is "continuously collecting related posts and materials and will take every possible measure to protect the rights and safety of our actors from such illegal acts," and that it "will continue to monitor acts that infringe on the rights and safety of our actors and take the necessary action on confirmed cases."
"Assassins," released on Sept. 23, deals with the 1974 attempt to assassinate President Park Chung-hee and the shooting death of first lady Yuk Young-soo. The historical-distortion controversy erupted over scenes in which some characters put forward a hypothesis that senior figures at the Korean Central Intelligence Agency may have been behind the incident, citing factors such as diplomatic relations with Japan at the time.
The controversy has spilled over into action targeting individual actors. On the 4th, the conservative civic groups Shin Jayu Yeondae (New Liberal Solidarity) and Bellado held rallies denouncing the production team and cast of "Assassins" outside a detached house in Seoul's Seongbuk District reported to be Yoo Hae-jin's home, as well as outside the headquarters of production company Hive Media Corp. Police unofficially estimated attendance at about 50 people.
Moviegoers, meanwhile, are flocking to the film. According to the Korean Film Council's integrated ticketing network, "Assassins" drew a total of 520,000 viewers over the three-day holiday from the 3rd to the 5th, bringing its cumulative total to 2.41 million as of the 5th, its 13th day in theaters.
