SEOUL – Since it hit theatres on Sept 23, the journalism thriller The Assassin(s) has been in the crosshairs for suggesting that a former president might have been involved in his wife’s death.

Much of the furore has played out on social media, fuelled by right-leaning online forums and conservative influencers. It has since reached just about everyone involved with the film, including its cast.

On Oct 2, production company Hive Media said the film’s team would skip next week’s Busan International Film Festival altogether, citing safety concerns for audiences and guests.

The director and leads were set to attend the opening ceremony on Oct 6 and meet fans at an outdoor stage event the next day. A free public screening planned for the day before the festival has also been called off.

The announcement came a day after Lee Min-ho, who plays a reporter digging into the case, pulled out of a festival talk session. No reason was given for the withdrawal, but industry watchers widely linked it to the outcry over the film.

Co-star Yoo Hae-jin, who plays the detective on the case, has faced pressure of his own as users on social media have called for a boycott of a burger chain he fronts. Some even claimed they were planning to stage a protest outside the actor’s home.

Directed by Hur Jin-ho, The Assassin(s) dramatises the 1974 shooting at a Liberation Day ceremony in Seoul where a gunman opened fire on President Park Chung-hee and fatally wounded First Lady Yuk Young-soo instead.

The shooter, Mun Se-gwang, was a 22-year-old South Korean resident of Japan who had ties to left-wing activists there. He was arrested at the scene and hanged months later after investigators concluded he had acted on Pyongyang’s orders.

At issue is the fil...