A provisional injunction hearing to decide whether to maintain the broadcast of content related to the religious group 'Agadongsan' featured in the Netflix documentary 'I Am God' will be held on the 24th.
At 10:30 a.m. that day, the Civil Division 50 of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Presiding Judge Park Beom-seok) will conduct a hearing on the provisional injunction case filed by Agadongsan and its leader Kim Gi-soon against producer Jo Sung-hyun and MBC to prohibit the broadcast.
Initially, Kim's side also filed a provisional injunction against Netflix Services Korea, but withdrew this part on the 20th. Netflix Services Korea is responsible for subscription contracts in Korea, and since the broadcasting rights belong to Netflix's U.S. headquarters, it was deemed meaningless to file the injunction against them.
'I Am God,' produced with the participation of MBC, is an eight-episode documentary covering four individuals who call themselves gods.
Agadongsan, introduced in episodes 5 and 6, filed a provisional injunction with the court on the 8th, requesting a ban on the broadcast. The group asked the court to prohibit the airing of the program or internet streaming that depicts Agadongsan as a 'pseudo-religious cult.' They also applied for a ban on the production and distribution of publications, including books. Furthermore, they requested the court to order a daily penalty of 10 million KRW if Netflix, producer Jo, or MBC fail to comply. The group claims that the broadcast contains only baseless unilateral assertions from some former members who left Agadongsan and that most of the content is false.
In 2001, Agadongsan also filed a provisional injunction to ban the SBS program 'Unanswered Questions - Agadongsan, Five Years Later.' The court accepted the injunction at that time, and SBS urgently replaced the scheduled broadcast with a special documentary titled 'Agadongsan, Five Years Later.'
Meanwhile, the Christian Gospel Mission (JMS), introduced in episodes 1, 2, and 3, also filed a provisional injunction to block the broadcast of 'I Am God,' but the Seoul Western District Court dismissed all JMS applications on the 2nd.
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