What happened in this Culture story?

The Directors Guild of Korea defended director Hur Jin-ho and the team behind 'The Assassin(s)' after conservative critics escalated attacks on the film's portrayal of the 1974 assassination of first lady Yuk Young-soo into personal harassment of its makers.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**The Directors Guild of Korea** issued a statement warning that hostility toward 'The Assassin(s)' had moved past questioning the film to "targeting the daily lives and livelihoods" of its cast and crew.

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

**Former People Power Party Seoul city councilor Lee Jong-bae** filed a police defamation complaint against director Hur Jin-ho, Hive Media Corp. CEO Kim Won-kuk, and writers Kwon Ki-jun and Lee Ji-min, arguing the plural title implies a second culprit beyond the official Mun Se-gwang.

Korean Film Guild Backs 'The Assassin(s)' Filmmakers — SkimNews

By Variety · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-10-05

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The Directors Guild of Korea issued a statement warning that hostility toward 'The Assassin(s)' had moved past questioning the film to "targeting the daily lives and livelihoods" of its cast and crew.
Former People Power Party Seoul city councilor Lee Jong-bae filed a police defamation complaint against director Hur Jin-ho, Hive Media Corp. CEO Kim Won-kuk, and writers Kwon Ki-jun and Lee Ji-min, arguing the plural title implies a second culprit beyond the official Mun Se-gwang.
PPP lawmakers attempted to summon Hur to testify at the annual parliamentary audit, but the Democratic Party blocked the move on creative freedom grounds.
'The Assassin(s)' opened Sept. 23, passed 1 million admissions in four days, and led the Korean box office again Oct. 2-4 with 412,012 tickets from 1,129 screens, bringing its running total to 2.23 million admissions and KRW21.9 billion ($16.3 million).
The backlash spread to supporters: Kim Go-eun and Lee Young-ae received abuse for sharing handwritten recommendations, critic Lee Dong-jin was targeted after a video review, and a YouTube film reviewer with 4.17 million subscribers pulled his video.
Park Chan-wook praised the film at a Sept. 26 audience Q&A, and the producers stated Sept. 28 that "nowhere in the film is any specific individual defined as being behind the incident." The film will open the 37th Singapore International Film Festival on Oct. 21.

Why it matters: The DGK's intervention establishes rare institutional cover for South Korean filmmakers facing coordinated political retaliation, after a box-office leader (KRW21.9 billion / $16.3M in two weeks) drew a police defamation complaint and a parliamentary summons attempt over its ambiguous portrayal of a 1974 national-trauma assassination. The Democratic Party's block of the summons signals that, at least for now, political pressure won't override creative freedom in official proceedings.