Controversies are not always bad for filmmakers. When debate over their work intensifies, public curiosity often grows, prompting people to seek out the film and form their own conclusions. Filmmakers can benefit commercially from such controversies, as viewers flock to theaters. But increased public attention does not always guarantee a film’s commercial success. The more attention a work receives, the more scrutiny it faces, increasing the chances that its flaws will be exposed. Award-winning filmmaker Hur Jin-ho’s new movie, “The Assassin(s),” is at the center of such scrutiny. Since its release in time for the Chuseok holiday, the film has been mired in controversy. Hur offers an alternative history about the assassination of then-first lady Yuk Young-soo on Aug. 15, 1974. Yuk, the wife of then-President Park Chung-hee and mother of former President Park Geun-hye, was shot dead by Moon Se-gwang, a Korean Japanese man who was alleged to have ties to North Korea, during a ceremony commemorating Korea’s 1945 liberation from Japanese colonial rule. More than five decades later