尹 Signs Of Boycott Of Film 'Firefighter' Amid Impeachment...Why?

The poster for the movie "Firefighter" ⓒBy4M Studio Co., Ltd.

Controversy continues over the boycott of the movie "Firefighter" directed by Kwak Kyung-taek.

Kwak Kyu-taek, a member of the People's Power, a younger brother of director Kwak, was found to have missed the vote on the impeachment motion of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

'Firefighter' depicts the situation of firefighters who were deployed with a single goal of extinguishing fire and saving power even in poor environment during the 2001 Hongje-dong fire disaster. Based on the "Hongje-dong Fire Disaster Incident" that occurred due to arson at a multi-family house in Hongje-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul on March 4, 2001, it was reconstructed by adding cinematic imagination.

Since its release on the 4th, the movie has been cruising to the box office, surpassing 1 million viewers in eight days. In addition, the film company gained enthusiastic support by saying that it would sponsor 119 won per ticket for the National Fire Hospital, which is scheduled to open next year. In fact, the amount of money that the film company has already confirmed to donate is 119 million won.

However, Kwak Kyu-taek, director Kwak's younger brother, was found to be one of the 105 members of the People's Power who did not attend the vote on the Yoon Suk Yeol presidential impeachment on the 7th, and the "Firefighter" seems to have encountered an unexpected difficulty.

Directed by Kwak Kyung-taek, ⓒBy4M Studio Co., Ltd.

Some pointed out that Kwak Kyung-taek participated in the campaign activities of his younger brother Kwak in the past, signaling a boycott of "firefighters."

However, there are many opinions that linking a movie that has a social meaning and conveys a good influence to the impeachment is an excessive "joining system." In addition, considering that actors, staff, and production companies who participated in the work have nothing to do with the incident, there are voices that the boycott is excessive.

While "Firefighter," which was released with difficulty amid various ups and downs such as the controversy over drunk driving by Kwak Do-won, the leading actor of the film, and the COVID pandemic, has met another reef, attention is being paid to whether the film will be able to go beyond another unexpected risk.