Seoul Police Warn of Stern Action Over Threats to Actor Yoo Hae-jin

Seoul police have warned that they will respond firmly to threats against actor Yoo Hae-jin as protests intensify over disputed historical portrayals in his film The Assassin(s).

Ko Beom-seok, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said Tuesday that officers were monitoring the situation and could introduce additional safeguards if they determine that Yoo faces a security risk. Possible measures include stronger patrols near the actor’s home and personal protection.

The warning followed a request from Culture Minister Choi Hui-young a day earlier for police to reinforce safety measures for people involved in the film and take a stern approach to threatening behavior. The intervention shifts the controversy beyond debate about a work of cinema and toward the question of how authorities should protect public figures when protests reach their private residences.

Conservative civic groups gathered outside Yoo’s home in northern Seoul on Sunday to object to the film’s treatment of a politically sensitive episode in modern Korean history. Critics allege that The Assassin(s) implies that former President Park Chung-hee was involved in the 1974 assassination of his wife, Yuk Yeong-su.

The demonstrations continued Tuesday. One civic group held a rally in central Seoul and called on companies to cancel advertising contracts with Yoo. Other protesters assembled outside Hive Media Corp., the film’s production company, demanding an apology to the public and to Park’s surviving family members.

Police did not announce that personal protection had already been assigned to Yoo. Ko’s remarks instead set out the steps authorities could take after assessing the level of danger. The distinction leaves the immediate police response dependent on whether officials identify a specific threat to the actor’s safety.

The dispute illustrates how arguments over the depiction of history can spill from cultural criticism into pressure campaigns targeting performers and producers. It also places law enforcement in the position of balancing the right to peaceful protest with the need to prevent intimidation or violence, particularly when demonstrations take place outside a person’s home.

Authorities have not, in the report, announced arrests or detailed any criminal charge arising from the rallies. The police statement focused on prevention and readiness, while signaling that threats against the actor would not be treated as an ordinary extension of public criticism.