The director of the Netflix documentary “I am God: People Betrayed by God,” Jo Sung-hyun PD, is facing prosecution for including nude images of JMS church members in the documentary. Jo PD expressed that he finds the situation “dismal” and hinted at a possible legal dispute.
In a statement, Jo PD stated, “Considering the current situation I am in as determined by the police, it is truly dismal, but I will continue to fight.” He mentioned that he did not apply mosaic to the bodies of the church members for the documentary with the aim of exposing the abnormality of a cult religion JMS and for the sake of truthfulness. He added that the documentary “I am God” was produced after receiving the grade review and decision from the video classification committee.
Jo PD emphasized that through this prosecution, the police have branded him as a sexual offender and labeled “I am God” as obscene materials. He compared this to the government awarding a presidential commendation to pornography if taken according to the police’s claim.
“I am God” is a documentary that dealt with the allegations of sexual misconduct by JMS chairman Jeong Myeong-seok and was released in March last year. It received praise by ranking 5th in global viewing rankings after its release, and Jo PD was awarded the President’s Commendation (Broadcasting-Video Industry Development Contribution) at the 2023 Korea Content Awards.
Recently, Mapo Police Station sent Jo PD to the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office on charges of violating the Sexual Violence Punishment Act for featuring uncensored images of female JMS church members in “I am God.”
(Photo=Netflix, Yonhap News)