Korean filmmakers urge politicians to let audiences judge The Assassin(s)

South Korean filmmakers urged politicians to let audiences judge The Assassin(s) at an Oct. 8 press conference in Busan, where a dispute over the film has disrupted festival events. The Singapore International Film Festival says it will retain the film as its opening selection despite a request from South Korea’s main opposition party to reconsider it.

About 20 directors and film industry figures, including Chung Ji-young and Lee Myung-se, made the appeal while the Busan International Film Festival was under way, Yonhap News Agency reported. They said they were concerned that evaluation of the film was becoming a tool for political feuds. ‘Audiences, not politicians, should judge,’ they said in a statement quoted by Yonhap.

The group also objected to assumptions about a film’s intentions being made without a thorough viewing. Holding directors, actors and production companies responsible on that basis could hinder creative freedom, they said. Their intervention followed the People Power Party’s appeal to the Singapore festival, extending a South Korean argument over the film to a festival abroad.

Why The Assassin(s) has drawn objections

The Assassin(s), directed by Hur Jin-ho and starring Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho, draws on a 1974 assassination attempt against then-President Park Chung-hee. Park survived the shooting at a Seoul Liberation Day ceremony, but his wife, first lady Yuk Young-soo, was fatally shot. The film’s fictionalized treatment of those events is at the center of the dispute, CNA Lifestyle reported.

The People Power Party, South Korea’s main opposition party, sent the Singapore International Film Festival a letter on Oct. 6 urging it to reconsider the opening-film choice. CNA reported that the letter was issued in the names of the party’s 109 National Assembly members, citing Asia Business Daily. According to the letter quoted by CNA, the party argued that creative freedom does not remove responsibility concerning historical facts and that an opening selection signals a festival’s values and judgment.

What the Singapore festival has confirmed

The Singapore International Film Festival told CNA that The Assassin(s) remained the opening film of its 37th edition. It said the film had been selected through an independent curatorial process for its artistic merit and contribution to contemporary Asian cinema. The festival described it as a creative work combining historical events with fictional characters and situations, rather than an attempt to establish historical conclusions.

The festival is scheduled to run from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1. CNA reported that The Assassin(s) was listed for Oct. 21 at Sands Theatre and Oct. 22 at the National Museum of Singapore. Those are planned screenings, not completed ones; the festival’s stated intention to retain the film does not establish how audiences will respond when it is shown.

CNA reported that the film opened in South Korean cinemas on Sept. 23 and had attracted about 2.5 million viewers by the time of its Oct. 8 report. The festival cited the film’s reception in its response. That audience figure provides context for the debate but does not settle the objections to the film’s portrayal of historical events.

Effects on Busan festival events

The backlash has already affected events connected with the film at the Busan International Film Festival. Yonhap reported that related events were canceled amid criticism of alleged historical inaccuracies. CNA reported that the distributor withdrew cast participation from Busan events, citing the safety of audiences and attendees. Those changes concern Busan; the Singapore festival has separately said its opening-film plan remains in place.

South Korean Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young defended creative freedom during a parliamentary audit on Oct. 7, according to CNA. He said imagination and creative work should not be restricted and that audiences should make their own judgments. His remarks preceded the Busan filmmakers’ press conference, which put a similar appeal directly to politicians amid the dispute over the film.

For now, the confirmed developments are the filmmakers’ Oct. 8 appeal, the disruption of Busan events and the Singapore festival’s stated plan to proceed. The Singapore screenings are scheduled for later in October, so their outcome is unknown. The cited reports also do not establish whether the party or other critics will make further requests for the film’s withdrawal.