Court denies sect's Netflix documentary ban request

A South Korean court on Thursday rejected a local religious group’s request for an injunction to stop the release of a new Netflix documentary series about its chief.

The Seoul Western District Court rejected the request that the religious fringe sect Christian Gospel Mission, better known as JMS (Jesus Morning Star), made against MBC, a major television network, and Netflix.

The eight-part documentary series, “In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal,” is about four Korean religious figures, including Jeong Myeong-seok, head of JMS, who claim to be prophets, according to the global streaming platform. MBC participated in the production of the series.

Jeong, 78, is standing trial on charge of sexually assaulting several female followers.

JMS filed for the injunction, claiming that featuring a case handled by a court in a documentary series breaches the “principle of presumption of innocence” and undermines religious freedom.

The court said MBC and Netflix appear to have made the programme based on many objective and subjective materials backing its claim.

“It is hard to judge that a major part of the program involving JMS is not true, simply based on the materials submitted by the group,” it said.