Director Gwak Kyung-taek "Youngest Gwak Gyu-taek's Absence from Impeachment Vote Disappointing"

"Firefighters" Boycott with "Yoon Seok-yeol Must Be Impeached"

Director Gwak Gyeong-taek of the film 'Sobanggwan' expressed regret over the unexpected boycott movement.

Yonhap News

'Sobanggwan,' which was released on the 4th, faced a setback in its box office performance after Gwak's younger brother, Gwak Gyu-taek, a member of the People Power Party, abstained from voting on the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol. A boycott movement has been spreading mainly through online communities.

In response to the intensified backlash, Director Gwak shared his troubled feelings on the 12th. He said, "My youngest brother, Gwak Gyu-taek, a People Power Party lawmaker, abstained from the impeachment vote following the party line, and now 'Sobanggwan' is also becoming a target of criticism." He added, "Like many of you, I am deeply disappointed and angry at lawmakers who did not even participate in the vote as a group."

He continued, "The president, who caused great chaos in the Republic of Korea and embarrassed the entire world, should step down voluntarily," emphasizing, "He must be impeached without fail."

'Sobanggwan' faced various difficulties even before hitting the theater screens. During the repeated postponements of its release due to the spread of COVID-19, lead actor Gwak Do-won was caught driving under the influence. The day before the release, President Yoon declared martial law.

Given these numerous setbacks, it is difficult to expect strong box office results. Although it led the box office for three consecutive days until the previous day, the average daily audience was less than 100,000. The cumulative audience number stands at 1,016,154, far below the break-even point of 2.5 million.