Controversy over 'The Assassins'… Busan Public Screening Cancelled: "No Endorsement of Any Particular Stance" [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

The public screening of the film 'The Assassins,' which has been engulfed in controversy over historical distortion, was ultimately cancelled.

On the 1st, the Busan Film Commission announced via its official social media platform, "We had intended to proceed with the public screening of 'The Assassins' as scheduled. However, after comprehensively reviewing the recent circumstances surrounding the work and the diverse opinions of citizens, we have decided to cancel the screening due to unavoidable reasons."

It further stated, "We sincerely apologize for any confusion caused to citizens who had been waiting for the screening according to the originally scheduled date."

However, it drew a clear line by stating that this decision does not constitute a judgment on the work itself. The Busan Film Commission explained, "This decision does not imply the Busan Film Commission's judgment or endorsement of any particular stance regarding the content of the work or the issues surrounding it."

'The Assassins' is a film that traces the suspicions and masterminds behind an incident, using the 1974 assassination attempt on Lady Yoo Young-soo as its motif. Since its release on the 23rd of last month, controversy has continued as political circles and related organizations have raised criticism of historical distortion over certain settings in the film.

In response, the production team issued an official statement on the 28th of last month, rebutting that the work is "not a film produced to newly establish a specific historical conclusion or to deny or distort existing facts." They also explained that it is a feature film that adds cinematic imagination based on publicly available records and materials, and that it does not designate a specific individual as the mastermind behind the incident nor present the hypotheses in the film as historical facts.

While respecting that various interpretations and criticisms may arise given that the work deals with historical events and real people, the production team urged viewers to regard it as a creative work, emphasizing that "it is not a film produced for specific political purposes or intentions."

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*This content was translated by AI.