SEOUL-- Disabled advocacy groups on Thursday filed a petition against action comedy "The Roundup" with the National Human Rights Commission, claiming that the movie promotes hatred and prejudice toward mental disorders.

The Korea Association for Mental Disorders and the Research Institute for the Rights and Interests of the Disabled said several scenes of the sequel to the 2017 hit movie "The Outlaws" depicts people with mental disorders as criminals.

The groups further demanded a halt to the screening of the movie and an apology from producers.

The groups criticized the movie for portraying mentally disabled people as unpredictable and violent, and spreading negative perceptions about mental illness and disorders.

The detective action flick starring Ma Dong-seok, also known as Don Lee, has been shattering South Korea's pandemic-era box office records. It topped 10 million admissions in local theaters in June.

Source: Yonhap News Agency