Culture Committee Fails to Approve Witnesses for Film Assassins... Audit Briefly Disrupted

The ruling and opposition parties clashed on October 14 over whether to summon as witnesses the director and other people involved in the film Assassin(s), which deals with the assassination of Yuk Young-soo. The ruling party blocked the witness appointments, prompting opposition lawmakers to protest and walk out en masse. The audit of state affairs was temporarily disrupted.

At an audit of the National Gambling Control Commission and other bodies held that day, the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee discussed whether to summon witnesses related to Assassin(s), but failed to reach an agreement. The People Power Party called for director Hur Jin-ho and other people involved to testify, while the ruling party opposed the move, citing creative freedom.

Cho Eun-hee, the opposition party's secretary on the committee, said, "This is not about ideological screening," and asked, "Why can't we summon the head of the film's production company or the head of the company that made the inhumane merchandise?" People Power Party lawmaker Kim Seok-ki also countered, "I cannot agree that unlimited creative freedom should be allowed even for works like this, which instill a distorted view of history in future generations."

Yonhap News Agency

In contrast, Choi Min-hee, the ruling party's secretary on the committee, said, "This is the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, not a censorship body," and countered, "I don't know what we're doing at a time when we should be working to promote culture, sports and tourism, particularly the film industry. Discussing this kind of controversy in the committee is anachronistic."

Committee Chair Lee Jae-jung said, "The Republic of Korea does not engage in censorship. If necessary, the film's production company and others can be held accountable after the fact," adding, "Mentioning Assassin(s) at today's audit is intimidating countless people in the film industry. Even if the secretaries of both parties reach an agreement on this matter, I will not approve the witness appointments."

After the committee chair rejected the appointment of witnesses related to Assassin(s), People Power Party lawmakers briefly walked out of the audit and later returned. Cho said, "We cannot accept the forced appointment of witnesses and reference witnesses without anyone from the film involved, and we cannot participate in a vote."

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