Lawmakers clashed again over the film "Assassin(s)" at the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on the 12th, during a parliamentary audit of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), the Korea Media Rating Board (KMRB) and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), all under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Opposition members pressed on the film's content, while the ruling party called the questioning political interference.
The People Power Party questioned how the film, which contains extensive profanity along with scenes of torture, violence and killing, received a rating allowing viewers aged 12 and over. Rep. Yoon Yong-keun of the People Power Party asked KMRB Chairman Kim Byung-jae whether fifth- and sixth-graders could absorb that level of violence and profanity without being shocked, and asked whether standards for verbal violence in schools differ entirely from the board's youth protection standards.
Rep. Kim Seok-ki of the same party said the core of the historical episode was that Mun Se-gwang, acting on orders from Chongryon, failed in an attempt to assassinate Park Chung-hee and killed first lady Yuk Young-soo. He argued the film would have a serious effect on the emotional development of 12-year-olds.
Rep. Cho Kye-won of the Democratic Party of Korea countered that viewers may interpret a film differently and that filmmakers have creative freedom. "There is no right to artificially intervene and block that judgment," he said. He added that the film industry holds the view that creative work is creative work, that it is not entirely identical to the truth, and that interpretation is up to the audience.
Committee Chairman Lee Jae-jung of the Democratic Party, responding to renewed demands that the film's director and others be called as witnesses, said that even if the floor negotiators of both parties reach an agreement, it was clearly his position that these individuals cannot be summoned as witnesses.
Kim, the KMRB chairman, said the board would continue to classify ratings carefully to protect young viewers as much as possible, within the bounds of preserving the independence and autonomy of its members.
Ko Jae-soo, head of CGV's business division, who appeared as a witness over the production of bullet-shaped promotional merchandise, also drew criticism. Rep. Cho Eun-hee of the People Power Party noted that when a controversy erupted over Starbucks' "Tank Day," its chief executive was dismissed, five employees were removed from their duties and the group chairman apologized in person. She asked whether no apology was necessary now simply because the president and the Democratic Party were not angry. Ko said marketing and planning for films are handled entirely by the distributor, but added, "As head of the division, I sincerely apologize to those who were harmed and caught up in the controversy stemming from the film's marketing, planning and operation." Rep. Choi Min-hee of the Democratic Party then said in a procedural remark that comparing the two cases as equivalent was an insult to the spirit of the May 18 democratization movement.
Another claim raised at the audit was that although weekend ticket prices have risen to 15,000 won, only about one in 10 moviegoers actually pays the listed price. Most buy tickets at discounts through early-morning screenings, memberships or card partnerships, widening the gap between the nominal price and what viewers actually pay.
Choi said a total of 97,011,045 movie tickets were recorded on KOFIC's integrated computer network from January through September this year, and that 78,787,408 of them, or 81.2%, sold below the list price for 2D screenings of 15,000 won on weekends and holidays and 14,000 won on weekdays. Tickets sold at the list price numbered 12,361,152, or just 12.7%, she said. Tickets sold above the list price totaled 5,862,485, or 6.0%, most of them for premium formats such as IMAX and 4D.
On weekends and holidays, 82.2% of all tickets sold for less than 15,000 won. On weekdays, 79.8% fell short of the 14,000 won list price. Discounts ranged from early-morning, youth and Culture Day reductions to mobile carrier memberships and card partnerships.
Nominal ticket prices rose sharply through the COVID-19 pandemic, but average revenue per admission has instead been falling. Weekend ticket prices climbed from 11,000 won in 2019 to 15,000 won now. Average revenue per admission across all films, by contrast, fell from 10,285 won in 2022 to 10,080 won in 2023 and 9,869 won last year.
Lawmakers also flagged strikingly low utilization at two specialized filming facilities within Studio Cube, the public video production complex KOCCA built in Daejeon for 36 billion won. Rep. Lim Oh-kyeong of the Democratic Party said Studio M, a water and marine filming facility built for 8 billion won, was rented out for only 19 days from January through September, a utilization rate of 7%, generating rental revenue of 4.75 million won.
Lim added that Studio V, a virtual studio built for 28 billion won, was rented for 29 days over the same period, a utilization rate of 10%, with rental revenue of 190 million won. Even the general-purpose studios, which had relatively higher utilization, showed an unstable revenue structure. Of Studio Cube's 2 billion won in total rental revenue this year, 1.64 billion won, or 82%, came from a single Netflix series.
Lim said a facility built with 36 billion won in taxpayer money that operates for less than a month a year raises doubts about whether demand and feasibility studies were properly conducted from the planning stage.