Mayor Shin Sangjin Strongly Criticizes "Assassin(s)"... "Deliberate Intention to Suggest Park Chung-hee Was Behind It"

Sangjin Shin, Mayor of Seongnam, sharply attacks “Assassin(s)” on SNS
Says, “If it’s fiction, make it complete fiction” in protest
Recalls witnessing the shooting of First Lady Yook Young-soo on black-and-white TV as a high school student
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Sangjin Shin, Mayor of Seongnam, strongly criticized the film "Assassin(s)," which uses the assassination attempt on Yook Young-soo as its subject matter, claiming that it contains an intention to imply that former President Park Chung-hee was behind the shooter Moon Se-kwang.

Sangsjin Shin, Mayor of Seongnam. Provided by Seongnam City

Writing on his social networking service (SNS) account, Mayor Shin questioned the meaning of the plural "(s)" in the film's title and argued, "It is a film with a highly deliberate intention by left-wing political conspiracy theorists, the writer, and the director."

He also rebuffed Assemblyman Park Jie-won's explanation that the film is "fiction," saying, "If it's fiction, make it a complete work of fiction."

Mayor Shin recounted his memory of watching the Liberation Day ceremony on August 15, 1974, at home on a black-and-white TV. At the time, he was an eighteen-year-old high school student. He recalled that, upon seeing Yook Young-soo being shot and collapsing after sudden gunfire, he was overcome with "shock and disbelief."

He said that he still vividly remembers the scene where former President Park, immediately after the shooting, ducked behind the podium and then stood back up to continue his commemorative address.

Mayor Shin wrote, "Witnessing composure and courage in a life-or-death crisis on live television, I felt deep admiration and thought, 'What an extraordinary person.'" He added that his memories of worrying about the country's situation and Mrs. Yook's fate remain as clear as if they happened yesterday.

Mayor Shin also used harsh language toward the filmmakers, referring to them as "degenerates driven by ideology or filled with false consciousness." He further argued that they were belittling the public by viewing them as being at the same level. He expressed distaste at the dismissive attitude of treating the controversy lightly simply because it is a movie.

Photo by Mayor Shin Sangjin Facebook Capture

He continued, "My only desire is to expose these degenerates, who have used the banner of culture and the arts to concoct a conspiracy, and make them kneel and apologize before the people."

However, Mayor Shin clarified that he had not actually watched the film before criticizing it. He explained that, although he had planned to view the movie over the past holiday, he changed his mind after hearing an outline of its content.

Meanwhile, the production staff of "Assassin(s)" maintains that the film is a creative work that reimagines a historical event through cinematic imagination. Director Heo Jin-ho also explained that, rather than reaching a specific conclusion, the movie follows the unresolved questions surrounding the incident.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.