[COVER STORY] 'The Assassin(s)' producers face defamation probe over depiction of 1974 first lady assassination

Director Hur Jin-ho's historical thriller "The Assassin(s)" became the top draw over this year's Chuseok holiday, but the movie is facing a growing political dispute and defamation investigation over its depiction of the 1974 shooting that killed then-first lady Yuk Young-soo. The controversy has spilled into Korea's already deep ideological divide, with conservatives accusing the film of distorting history and liberals defending it as a work of fiction. The debate escalated and took a legal turn on Tuesday, when a former city councilor from the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) filed a police complaint against the director and producers. The complaint accuses them of defamation by spreading false information through the film, claiming the movie distorted history by implying that then-President Park Chung-hee, who took power in 1961 through a military coup, was involved in his wife's assassination. The movie is based on the Aug. 15, 1974, shooting in which Mun Se-gwang, a North Korea-linked Korean resident of Japan, opened fire in an attempt to assassinate Park and fa