The Assassins cast divided on stage greetings over distortion claims

The film The Assassins faces an intensifying historical distortion controversy regarding its depiction of the 1974 assassination of First Lady Yuk Young-su, yet lead actors Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il, and Lee Min-ho will proceed with scheduled stage greetings, according to sportschosun.com. Meanwhile, cast members Ryu Hye-young, Jang Ryul, and Choi Yu-ri have pulled out of the promotional events.

Production company Hive Media Corp announced via its official account that Ryu Hye-young, Jang Ryul, and Choi Yu-ri will not attend the second-week opening stage greetings scheduled for October 3 and 4. Director Hur Jin-ho, alongside lead actors Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il, and Lee Min-ho, will participate as originally planned. Hive Media Corp stated that the three actors were unavoidably unable to attend and asked for the audience’s understanding.

The film depicts the suspicions and hidden backgrounds behind the August 15, 1974, assassination of the First Lady. Directed by Hur Jin-ho and starring Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il, and Lee Min-ho, the project surpassed 1 million moviegoers within four days of its opening on the 23rd, maintaining the top spot at the box office over the Chuseok holiday. However, criticism erupted as the movie reconstructed the high-profile historical shooting through cinematic imagination.

Historical records from the special investigation headquarters concluded that Mun Se-gang, acting under directives from North Korea and the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon), attempted to assassinate then-President Park Chung-hee, resulting in the fatal shooting of First Lady Yuk Young-su. Mun Se-gang was subsequently executed. The controversy stems from the film’s narrative choices, which hint at the possibility of accomplices and suggest regime or presidential intervention, blurring the lines between historical fact and fiction.

Makers of the film defended the project by stating it is a dramatic feature film motivated by a 1974 historical incident, reconstructed using cinematic imagination and records from the period, without political intent. Despite these statements, the backlash intensified into calls for boycotts of products endorsed by the participating actors and spilled over into political sparring. Lee Jong-bae, a former Seoul Metropolitan Council member from the People Power Party, filed a criminal complaint at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency against Director Hur Jin-ho and the production team on charges of defamation by disseminating false facts under the Criminal Act, sportschosun.com reported.

Stage Greetings Continue Despite Cast Absence and Boycott Calls

While three cast members withdrew from upcoming promotional appearances, the core trio of Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il, and Lee Min-ho remain attached to the live audience interactions scheduled for the second release weekend. The production company’s notice confirmed the revised lineup without detailing the specific reasons for Ryu Hye-young, Jang Ryul, and Choi Yu-ri stepping back from the events. The scheduling adjustments arrive as the feature faces severe public backlash over its artistic liberties.

Public reaction has extended beyond digital discourse into commercial and legal arenas. Calls were initiated to boycott brands associated with the cast members. The legal complaint filed with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency by former Seoul Metropolitan Council member Lee Jong-bae targets the director and producers directly, shifting the dispute from cultural critique to formal criminal investigation under the charge of disseminating false facts.

Historical Fact Versus Cinematic License in the 1974 Investigation

The core of the public dispute centers on how the film portrays the events surrounding August 15, 1974. Official state investigations at the time determined that the gunman, Mun Se-gang, acted on external directives to target the president, a sequence of events that ended in the death of First Lady Yuk Young-su. By introducing narrative elements that imply institutional complicity or unseen co-conspirators, the production crossed from documented historical consensus into dramatized speculation.

Producers maintained that the work builds upon archival records of the period while employing standard cinematic license for a dramatic feature. Yet, that framing has failed to appease critics or political figures.