Police have begun protective measures for actor Yoo Hae-jin after a dispute over alleged historical distortion in the film "Assassin(s)" escalated into rallies outside his home and threatening remarks online.
Rallies at His Home, Threats Online
The Seongbuk Police Station in Seoul said on the 6th that it received a protection request from Yoo's agency that day and began safety measures. Police gave Yoo a smartwatch for emergencies, registered him in the 112 emergency response system and stepped up patrols near his home in Seoul's Seongbuk District. No dedicated protection officers were assigned.
"We take safety measures not only when someone has been the victim of a crime but also when there is concern about potential harm," a police official said.
The move follows the spread of the controversy over "Assassin(s)" to individual actors. On the 4th, the conservative groups Shin Liberal Solidarity and Bellado held a rally outside a detached house in Seongbuk District reported to be Yoo's residence. Police estimated about 50 people gathered to demand that screenings be halted and that the production team and cast issue a public apology. Threatening remarks targeting Yoo also continued online.
Ko Beom-seok, commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, told a regular press briefing that morning that police would take strict action under the law against any harm or threats directed at the actors, adding that they would consider further steps such as increased patrols or personal protection if needed.
Protests Spread to Advertisers and the Production Company
The protests extended beyond Yoo's home to advertisers and the film's production company. Shin Liberal Solidarity and Bellado held a rally that day outside the Burger King headquarters in Seoul's Jongno District, where Yoo serves as an advertising model, chanting slogans calling for boycotts of the film and the chain and demanding that the advertising contract be canceled.
Another conservative group, the Hoguk Union Shield Corps, held a rally at about 5 p.m. that day outside the building of Hive Media Corp, the film's production company, denouncing the producers and the cast.
Shin Liberal Solidarity denied threatening Yoo. The group said it filed a criminal complaint that day against Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young on charges of defamation through false statements, objecting to the minister's call on the 5th for strict action against what he described as excessive infringement by some conservative groups against the film's actors.
"Assassin(s)" centers on the 1974 shooting of first lady Yuk Young-soo on Liberation Day. The incident was concluded to be the sole act of Mun Se-gwang, an ethnic Korean resident of Japan who fired at President Park Chung-hee, with Yuk struck by a bullet and killed in the process. Critics say the film distorts historical fact by including a premise suggesting that the government of the time may have been involved behind the attack.
The production team said the film was not made to establish a new historical conclusion or to deny or distort established facts.
