Civic Group Files Police Complaint Over Film Assassins

The film Assassins has drawn a police complaint from a civic group over historical distortion claims and public agency group-viewing events surrounding the 1974 assassination of First Lady Yuk Young-su.

On October 1, the civic group Seomin Democratic Livelihood Countermeasures Committee filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency against six government and public institution officials. The targeted individuals include Kim Kyung-ja, senior presidential secretary for social policy; Choi Whi-young, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Kim Byung-ja, chairman of the Korea Media Rating Board; Hong Ji-sun, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport; Park Chang-geun, head of the Korea Authority for Road and Rail Safety; and Lee Sung-hoon, president of Korea Land and Housing Corporation.

The complaint alleges abuse of power and neglect of official duties. Released on September 23, the movie Assassins centers on the August 15, 1974, incident where second-generation Zainichi Korean Mun Se-gwang shot at President Park Chung-hee, resulting in the death of First Lady Yuk Young-su. Controversy arose because the film includes scenes suggesting that figures within President Park’s camp or the Korean Central Intelligence Agency may have planned the incident.

Civic Group Claims Historical Distortion and Misuse of Authority

The Seomin Democratic Livelihood Countermeasures Committee argued that the film contains elements likely to cause public division in addition to historical distortion. The group stated that officials should have approached the matter with greater caution, and that the handling of the subject by Kim, Choi, and Kim Byung-ja amounts to abuse of power and dereliction of duty.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism operates under the supervision of the presidential social policy secretary, while the Korea Media Rating Board functions as an agency under the ministry. The complaint also encompasses the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and its affiliated institutions due to recent group viewings organized by state bodies.

Public Agency Group Viewings and Corporate Sponsorship

Korea Land and Housing Corporation and the Korea Authority for Road and Rail Safety recently held group-viewing events for Assassins at a cinema in Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do, organized by their respective general affairs departments. Rental costs for the theater were covered by Mirae Asset Securities, the retirement pension provider for both organizations.

The civic group contended that it was inappropriate for government-affiliated public agencies to hold group viewings for a film embroiled in heavy historical distortion controversies. In response, a Mirae Asset Securities representative stated on September 30 that the client movie screening is part of ongoing retirement pension marketing efforts across the industry, following similar sponsored viewings for titles like Crayon Shin-chan and Odyssey this year, adding that the company plans to review its operational criteria to prevent customer events from causing unintended misunderstandings.

Korea Land and Housing Corporation similarly clarified that the event was organized by their pension provider as standard welfare and cultural services for subscribing employees, emphasizing that the selection of the screening work and the execution of the viewing had no connection to corporate judgment or political motives.