Naver says “Assassin(s)” review abuse confirmed and refers case to police
Version 2: Coverage expanded beyond Naver's statement: more outlets confirmed the Oct. 1 police referral and the review-display changes, and reporting added a political reaction — People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won calling the move selective control of public opinion — plus detail on the film's historical-distortion dispute, one-star ratings and a defamation complaint against its producers.
In short
Naver said it confirmed “mechanical abuse” — abnormal use of its service through automated tools — in viewer reviews of the film “Assassin(s)” and referred the case to police on Oct. 1. The company said it temporarily set that film's reviews to sort by “latest” by default, and will show only expert ratings on the movie search “rolling board” for all films. The film, about the 1974 shooting of First Lady Yuk Young-soo, has drawn criticism of historical distortion, one-star ratings from some netizens and a defamation complaint against its producers; the documents do not say who carried out the review abuse.
Read the full story 2 min read
Naver said it confirmed “mechanical abuse” — the abnormal use of its service through automated tools — in viewer reviews of the film “Assassin(s)” and referred the case to police, according to the company's customer service notice as reported by the Hankook Ilbo, Maeil Business and the Dong-A Ilbo. The Kukmin Ilbo reported in the early hours of Oct. 4 that Naver had referred the case to police over suspected rating manipulation, without giving further detail, and Newsis and the Chosun Ilbo also reported the police referral. Maeil Business and the Dong-A Ilbo said the referral was made on Oct. 1. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
Naver said it would temporarily make “latest” the default sorting for “Assassin(s)” reviews, while keeping the “most liked” sorting available in a tab users can select. It also said it will change how ratings are displayed for all films: the “rolling board” on the movie search screen will show only expert ratings, and viewer and netizen ratings and reviews will appear only in the reviews section. “We are sorry for the inconvenience,” Naver said, adding that it would work to spread a healthy culture of film reviews. Maeil Business reported the company is also considering introducing a new default sorting method for reviews. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
The company said the action followed errors in which some reviews were registered more than once and like and dislike counts were double-counted. In a Sept. 29 notice, Naver said it had carried out emergency measures, deleting the duplicate reviews and excluding the double-counted reactions, and Maeil Business reported that Naver said at the time the error had not occurred only in “Assassin(s)” and that it was still verifying the technical facts of the macro suspicion. [ 3 , 5 ]
The film deals with the Aug. 15, 1974 shooting of First Lady Yuk Young-soo, and Maeil Business reported it raises the possibility that the presidential office or the KCIA planned the incident, drawing criticism from some quarters of historical distortion, a controversy Newsis and the Chosun Ilbo also cited. Maeil Business reported that some netizens gave the film the lowest one-star rating in criticism of its content, and that some argued such collective low ratings amounted to malicious “star rating terror.” The Hankook Ilbo reported the film had passed 1.82 million cumulative admissions. Newsis reported that Lee Jong-bae, a former Seoul city council member of the People Power Party, filed a complaint with police against the film's producers on defamation charges on Sept. 29. [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
There was also a political reaction: the Chosun Ilbo reported that People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won criticised the move as “Naver's selective control of public opinion.” Maeil Business reported Naver said it would actively cooperate with the investigation and apologised again for the inconvenience. [ 4 , 5 ]
Why it matters
The case places a police investigation behind a major Korean internet platform's own finding that automated tools can distort film review scores, and Naver's changed display rules will affect how ratings appear for every film on its service, not just this one. The film at the centre of the case is already the subject of a political dispute over historical distortion and a defamation complaint, though the documents do not say the manipulation and that dispute are connected.
Key facts
- Naver said “mechanical abuse” — abnormal use of its service through automated tools — was confirmed in reviews of the film “Assassin(s).” [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Naver said it referred the case to police on Oct. 1. [ 5 , 6 ]
- Naver said “latest” became the temporary default sorting for “Assassin(s)” reviews, while the “most liked” sorting remains available in a tab. [ 3 , 5 ]
- Naver said that for all films, the “rolling board” on the movie search screen will show only expert ratings, with viewer and netizen ratings and reviews appearing only in the reviews section. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Naver said that after its Sept. 29 notice it deleted duplicate reviews and excluded double-counted like and dislike reactions. [ 3 , 5 ]
- Maeil Business reported the film is about the Aug. 15, 1974 shooting of First Lady Yuk Young-soo, that some netizens gave it one-star ratings and that some called collective low ratings malicious “star rating terror.” [ 5 ]
- The Hankook Ilbo reported the film had passed 1.82 million cumulative admissions. [ 3 ]
- Newsis reported that Lee Jong-bae, a former People Power Party Seoul city council member, filed a defamation complaint with police against the film's producers. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Naver said it found abnormal traffic in the reviews of “Assassin(s)” and that mechanical abuse through automated tools was confirmed for that film. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Naver said it referred the case over the film's reviews to police. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Naver said it referred the case to police on Oct. 1. [ 5 , 6 ]
- Naver said it temporarily changed the default sorting of “Assassin(s)” reviews to “latest” while keeping the “most liked” sorting available to users. [ 3 , 5 ]
- Naver said the “rolling board” on the movie search screen will display only expert ratings, with viewer and netizen ratings and reviews offered only in the reviews section. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Naver said a Sept. 29 notice followed errors in which some reviews were registered twice and like and dislike counts were double-counted, and that it deleted the duplicate reviews and excluded the double-counted reactions. [ 3 , 5 ]
- The film deals with the shooting of First Lady Yuk Young-soo and has drawn controversy over alleged historical distortion. [ 2 , 4 , 5 ]
Still unclear
- Who carried out the abnormal traffic on “Assassin(s)” reviews, and whether it is connected to the film's political controversy or the defamation complaint against its producers. The documents do not identify the source of the abuse or state any link to the separate dispute.
- Whether the manipulation affected the film's ratings, admissions or commercial performance. The documents give an admissions figure but do not say the abuse changed scores or ticket sales.
- People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won's criticism that the move amounted to “Naver's selective control of public opinion.” Reported by a single outlet, the Chosun Ilbo, and only in its feed summary.
- Naver's statement that the duplication error did not occur only in “Assassin(s)” and that it was still verifying the technical facts of the macro suspicion. Reported by a single outlet, Maeil Business.
- Naver is considering introducing a new default sorting method for reviews instead of “most liked” or “latest.” Reported by a single outlet, Maeil Business.
- The Kukmin Ilbo's early report of suspected rating manipulation and a police referral gave no further detail. No article text is available, and the report was published before Naver's notice.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Naver publishes a notice saying errors caused some reviews to be registered twice and like and dislike counts to be double-counted, and that it deleted the duplicate reviews and excluded the double-counted reactions. [ 3 , 5 ]
- Lee Jong-bae, a former Seoul city council member of the People Power Party, files a defamation complaint with police against the producers of “Assassin(s),” according to Newsis. [ 2 ]
- Naver refers the review case to police, according to Maeil Business and the Dong-A Ilbo. [ 5 , 6 ]
- The Kukmin Ilbo reports suspected circumstances of rating manipulation for “Assassin(s)” and that Naver referred the case to police, without further detail. [ 1 ]
- Newsis publishes a photo report on “Assassin(s)” at a Seoul cinema kiosk, citing the film's subject matter and the defamation complaint. [ 2 ]
- The Hankook Ilbo reports Naver's statement that mechanical abuse was confirmed in the film's reviews and that the company asked police to investigate, along with its display changes. [ 3 ]
- The Chosun Ilbo reports the police referral and lawmaker Na Kyung-won's criticism of Naver over “selective control of public opinion.” [ 4 ]
- Maeil Business reports the Oct. 1 police referral, Naver's service changes and the film's background and rating dispute. [ 5 ]
- The Dong-A Ilbo reports the confirmed manipulation and that only expert ratings will show on the movie search screen for the time being. [ 6 ]