Naver Reports Automated Review Abuse as Film Dispute Spreads Offline
Naver referred abnormal activity involving reactions to reviews of the historical thriller “The Assassin(s)” to police, while protests and safety concerns intensified the dispute surrounding the film.
A dispute surrounding the South Korean historical thriller “The Assassin(s)” widened on Sunday after Naver said it had detected automated abuse involving reactions to online reviews of the film and referred the matter to police. The controversy also moved offline as conservative groups protested near a Seoul house believed to belong to lead actor Yoo Hae-jin.
Naver, South Korea’s largest web portal and a major platform for movie information and audience reviews, said it found abnormal traffic involving several films. In the case of “The Assassin(s),” the company confirmed what it described as mechanical abuse of the feature that lets users react positively or negatively to reviews.
The company did not identify who was behind the activity and did not characterize it as politically motivated. It also did not say that the film’s star ratings had been manipulated. Naver temporarily changed the default review display from most-liked to most-recent after allegations that coordinated users had sought to elevate strongly negative comments.
The film, released on Sept. 23, dramatizes the 1974 attempt to assassinate then-President Park Chung-hee, an attack that instead killed first lady Yuk Young-soo. The official investigation concluded that gunman Mun Se-gwang acted under North Korean direction. The movie, however, follows fictional investigators who question whether figures within Park’s government or intelligence apparatus might also have played a role.
That premise has drawn criticism from conservative politicians and civic groups, which accuse the production of distorting history and insulting Yuk’s surviving family. The production team has maintained that the work is fictional and is not intended to establish a new conclusion about the historical event.
The dispute escalated on Sunday when about 50 people, based on an unofficial police estimate reported by local media, gathered outside a residence in Seoul’s Seongbuk district believed to be Yoo’s home. Participants called for theaters to stop screening the movie and demanded apologies from its producers and cast.
Promotional plans have also been affected. Yoo and co-star Lee Min-ho withdrew from appearances connected to the Busan International Film Festival, and other events were canceled because of safety concerns.
Despite the backlash, the film passed 2 million admissions on Saturday, its 11th day in theaters, according to Korean Film Council figures. The episode now combines a dispute over historical representation with questions about coordinated online activity and pressure directed at performers beyond the screen.