Choi Min-hee, a supreme council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, pushed back against conservative criticism of the film "Assassin(s)," saying: "Please watch movies as movies."
Speaking at a party supreme council meeting at the National Assembly on the 30th, Choi said the People Power Party's "political offensive against the film 'Assassin(s)' has gone far beyond the line." She criticized the opposition, saying: "They demand the screenings be halted, they say they will launch a boycott, they come forward to call director Hur Jin-ho to a parliamentary audit — it is getting worse and worse."
"They are even dragging in the death of President Roh Moo-hyun," Choi said. "That is not a name the People Power Party can mobilize for a forced political offensive." Her remarks responded to attacks from the conservative opposition, including party leader Jang Dong-hyuk, who said that "if a film like this had been made about the late former Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, the Democratic Party would have driven the production company out of business."
Choi also rebutted the People Power Party's argument for calling Hur as a witness to the parliamentary audit, which cited the case of director Kim Duk-young, who appeared as a reference witness at last year's audit after directing "The Birth of Korea 2." "The reason Kim was adopted as a reference witness at the time was not to examine the content of the film. It concerned whether the Korean Film Council recognized it as an independent film," she said. "And Kim himself stated that 'The Birth of Korea' is a documentary. 'Assassin(s)' is fiction."
"Korean cinema is in great difficulty right now. An entertaining film has come out after a long while and the audience numbers are rising," Choi added. "I hope they do not pour cold water on the budding signs of a recovery in Korean cinema with a pointless political offensive."
