"'In the Name of God' is pornography? It's very deplorable." (Director Cho Sung-hyun)
Director Cho Sung-hyun has made a statement regarding his indictment to the prosecution on charges of violating the Sexual Violence Punishment Act.
Cho stated on the 20th, "Considering my current situation due to the decision made by the Mapo Police, I feel deeply deplorable. However, I will continue to fight."
He is the director of the Netflix documentary 'In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal' (hereafter 'In the Name of God'), which raised allegations of sexual assault against JMS leader Jeong Myeong-seok.
The JMS side took issue with the documentary, accusing it of exposing nude videos without the consent of followers. The police transferred Cho to the prosecution on the 14th.
Cho explained, "The scenes mentioned by the police have a high level of facial mosaic applied. JMS has continuously claimed that the video was fabricated."
He said he omitted body mosaics to break the fabrication claims. "It was for the public interest and factual transparency in exposing the abnormality of the cult."
He followed the standard content release procedures, including a rating review by the Korea Media Rating Board, which eventually rated it as unsuitable for minors.
JMS filed for an injunction to stop the screening, attempting to block the documentary's release. However, the court did not accept it, leading to its unveiling in March last year.
Cho pointed out, "'In the Name of God' began with the determination and sacrifice of Professor Kim Do-hyung, who fought JMS for 30 years, and a Hong Kong woman named Maple."
There were also achievements. "Half of all JMS followers left. Jeong Myeong-seok has been arrested and can no longer commit further sexual crimes. The world has improved," he interpreted.
However, the result was Cho being sent to the prosecution on charges of violating the Sexual Violence Punishment Act. The Mapo Police judged that the private interests of JMS followers outweighed the public interest of 'In the Name of God'.
He criticized, "They branded me as a sex offender for highlighting the JMS case and labeled 'In the Name of God' as pornography. It means the government awarded a presidential commendation to pornography."
Indeed, Cho received a presidential commendation (for contributions to the broadcasting and video industry) at the 'Korea Content Awards' held at the Grand Auditorium of the National Museum of Korea in Seoul last December.
Lastly, he emphasized, "I will fight to the end to keep the promise I made to Maple's father and my son. Society will witness who tried to hide what."
Meanwhile, Jeong Myeong-seok is on trial while in custody. The Daejeon District Prosecutor's Office sentenced him to 23 years in prison last year for charges of sexually assaulting a female follower.
<Photo=Netflix>
