Kwak Kyu-taek, the younger brother of director Kwak Kyung-taek, is boycotting the movie "Firefighter" he directed after it was revealed that he did not participate in the vote on the impeachment motion of President Yoon Suk Yeol, and director Kwak himself expressed his position.
Director Kwak Kyung-taek today (12th) said that the movie "Firefighter" suffered a lot of twists, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic and the controversy over drunk driving of the leading actor Kwak Do-won.
Referring to the time when emergency martial law was declared on December 3, the day before the movie's release, director Kwak said, "Honestly, my heart is still pounding. Still, the anxiety surrounds my whole body," he said.
He then said, "There are people who consider the movie 'Firefighter' as a target of criticism because Kwak Kyu-taek, the youngest member of my family, did not participate in the impeachment vote according to the party's theory recently," adding, "I am also very disappointed and angry at the lawmakers who did not even participate in the vote as a group."
Director Kwak also said, "Honestly, I think it is right for the president to step down on his own after causing havoc in the Republic of Korea and embarrassing the world. If not, he should be impeached," he added, expressing his thoughts on the current impeachment situation.
"In the past, we believe that all people have worked together to wisely overcome the period of political chaos, and that we will overcome this difficult period at the end of 2024," he said, adding, "I sincerely hope that we will continue to be a world where we can express the stories we want to tell in movies or books."
'Firefighter' is a movie about firefighters who were put in with a single goal of extinguishing fire and saving power despite poor conditions during the 2001 Hongje-dong fire disaster, and has been cruising past 1 million viewers in eight days since its release on the 4th.
However, it was revealed that Kwak Kyu-taek, the younger brother of director Kwak, was one of the 105 members of the People's Power who did not attend the vote on the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol on the 7th, leading some to boycott the movie.
Next, director Kwak Kyung-taek's full statement.
Hello, I'm movie director Kwak Kyung-taek.
Recently, there were so many twists and stories before our movie "Firefighter" met the audience. COVID-19, actor drinking, and this time even emergency martial law the day before its release. Honestly, my heart is still pounding when I think about the night of December 3rd.
And thankfully, the movie "Firefighter" is loved by many audiences, but the anxiety still surrounds my whole body. I think many people feel the same way as me.
Recently, Kwak Kyu-taek, the youngest member of my family, was absent from the impeachment vote according to the party line, so even the movie "Firefighter" is considered a target of criticism.
I am also deeply disappointed and angry at the Members of Parliament who did not even participate in the vote as a group. To be honest, I think a president who caused havoc in the Republic of Korea and humiliated the whole world should step down on his own. If you don't, you definitely deserve to be impeached.
In the past, we believe that all people have worked together to wisely overcome the period of political chaos and will overcome this difficult period at the end of 2024.
So I sincerely hope that the story we want to tell will continue to be a world where we can express ourselves in movies or books.
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