'Killer Annoyed' Director Denies Political Intent in Lee Jae-myung Satire Allegations [Interview]

Netflix 'Salinja Onangam' Director Lee Chang-hee Interview

Controversy Over Resemblance to Lee Jae-myung, Democratic Party Leader
"Purely Coincidental, Not Intentional Direction" Explanation

A screenshot from the scene of 'Sarinja Onangam'
[Photo by Netflix]

"They claim the actor's appearance reminds them of a specific politician (Lee Jae-myung), but no particular individual was considered during the casting stage."

On the 9th, the Netflix series 'Sarinja Onangam' released on the online video service (OTT) sparked political controversy as claims arose that a character resembling Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, appears in episode 7. As the controversy grew, director Lee Chang-hee met with reporters a day earlier than the originally scheduled interview on the 15th. On the afternoon of the 14th, at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, he told Asia Economy, "At first, I was dumbfounded. I thought the issue would pass... but it didn't. I wanted to speak to the reporters quickly, so I suggested moving the interview up by a day." He said, "I feel wronged and bewildered," adding, "I believe it is unfair to subtly embed a director's personal views into the drama."

The character identified as resembling Lee Jae-myung is Chairman Hyeong Seong-guk (played by Seung Eui-yeol), who uses money as a shield to commit various corrupt acts. His appearance, including hair combed back with white hair and black-rimmed glasses, drew comparisons to Lee. There was also criticism that his prisoner number 4421, while incarcerated, evokes the Daejang-dong incident linked to Lee. This corresponds to the total sales revenue (442.1 billion KRW) reported by Jeil Construction, which is known to have supplied six apartment blocks in Daejang-dong from Seongnam City. This setting does not exist in the original work.

The director stated that there was no intention to satirize Lee during the filming preparations. He explained, "The white hair is simply the actor Seung Eui-yeol's natural appearance; it was not dyed. The black-rimmed glasses are the same. They were neatly styled back, but there was no directorial intent behind it."

Director Lee Chang-hee [Photo by Netflix]

There were also claims that the scene where Chairman Hyeong Seong-guk eats sushi in detention recalls allegations that Lee's wife used a corporate card to pay for sushi. This, too, is not a setting from the original work. The director dismissed this, saying, "I see it as a clich?. When thinking of a high-end meal a company chairman might eat in detention, sushi was the only option. The controversy arose from absurd forced interpretations."

Additionally, some argued that the character 'Hyeong Ji-su' evokes the word 'hyeongsu' (brother-in-law), which is related to a series of incidents involving Lee. He said, "It is common to derive character names from the production staff's names; this one came from the producer named 'Ji-su.' This is a usual practice during filming."

When asked if he anticipated such controversy during post-production after filming, the director replied, "I never thought about it." He added, "Out of tens of thousands of viewers, perhaps only one person (who posted the comment) expressed that opinion. None of the 150 production staff raised such concerns, nor did I hear about it during post-production." He also said, "When I cut my hair short, people say I resemble a northern leader."

Asked about his personal political stance, he retorted, "Does the personal inclination of a single director matter?" and responded, "It is inappropriate to reveal that." He emphasized, "This work is not a political drama, and personally, I am not interested in politics."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.