Box Office Rank #2 ‘The King’s Man’ Facing a Screening Ban Crisis? Producer Says, “No Plagiarism”

[Issue Focus] Blockbuster at No. 2 in attendance, ‘The Man Who Lives with the King’, faces an unprecedented ‘screening ban’ crisis

A legal showdown is at the center of attention for ‘The Man Who Lives with the King’ (hereafter ‘The King’s Man’), the mega-hit film by director Jang Hang-jun, who built a golden monument of being the No. 2 highest-grossing Korean film in history. Suspicion of ‘plagiarism’ raised by the bereaved family of the screenwriter of the drama ‘Eom Heung-do’, broadcast in the 2000s, has led to a lawsuit seeking a ‘provisional injunction to ban screening’, drawing intense attention inside and outside the film industry.

A ‘copyright’ dispute spills into court... “Historical facts” vs. “Misappropriation of creative elements”

On the 19th, the first hearing on the ‘provisional injunction to ban screening’ application was held at the Seoul Western District Court, Civil Division 21 (presiding judge Shin Myung-hee), targeting the co-producers Ondaworks, BA Entertainment, and distributor Showbox for ‘The King’s Man’. The key issue is whether there is real substantive similarity in how the film handles historical records about Danjong’s deposition and the recovery of the body from ‘Eom Heung-do’.

• Producers’ rebuttal: “The alleged similarities claimed by the bereaved family are nothing more than historical facts, so they cannot be subject to ‘copyright’ protection. The drama focuses on the characters’ martyrdom, but the film is fundamentally different in conflicts among characters, narrative structure, and even the ending.”

• The court’s assessment: “The argument that historical materials themselves are not subject to ‘copyright’ protection may be valid. However, for the seven ‘creative elements’ presented by the bereaved family, the producers will need to submit specific explanatory materials.”

Outlook and ripple effects in the film industry... What will happen to a ten-million viewer film?

After the hearing concluded, the bereaved family said they expressed their intention that “it was mostly a discussion of principle, and we will strengthen our arguments as much as possible through written submissions going forward.” Meanwhile, the producers Ondaworks maintained a firm stance that the ‘plagiarism’ claims were groundless and that they would respond decisively through legal means, an approach they had already upheld in March.

With cumulative attendance of about 16.81 million people—making ‘The King’s Man’ the No. 2 highest-grossing domestic release of all time following ‘Roaring Currents’—the fate of ‘The King’s Man’ now rests with the court. This ruling is expected to become an important precedent that establishes the ‘copyright’ standards for historical drama content modeled on real people and history.