At the start of May, Netflix premiered the chilling crime docuseries In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal. The series dives heavily into four self-proclaimed prophets and their cults in an eight-episode season. The first “messiah” is Jeong Myeong-seok, the leader of Providence Church, also known as JMS. The still active JMS church filed a suit against Netflix’s In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal to stop its premiere.
‘In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal’ uses upsetting evidence about JMS’s misuse of power and assault
As planned, Netflix premiered the docuseries on March 3. Within three episodes, audiences learned the brutal and vile truth of JMS cult leader Jeong. He rose to prominence in the 80s and roped in the interest of college students throughout South Korea, posing as a worthwhile club. His use of vulgar language, his perception of the Bible, and his supposed healing abilities had everyone believe he was a messiah.
JMS grew exponentially and had churches throughout the country and devoted followers. But In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal tells the truth behind the “holy” figure and his sadistic ways. The docuseries explores how Jeong’s grand control of his followers allowed him to brainwash young women into becoming his “brides.” JMS representatives would bring him young women who fit his standards in a one-on-one meeting.
Already seeing Jeong as a messiah, the women were eager to meet with him. But they never expected to be assaulted under the ruse that it was part of a greater plan and that Jeong was ensuring their health and prosperity. Despite knowing it was wrong, the representatives encouraged the victims that it was a great honor.
Over several years, Jeong assaulted hundreds of young women. In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal uses hard-to-watch real evidence of his female followers nude in videos and photos to appease him. The docuseries explores how Jeong fled to Taiwan after the first few cases of assault came to light, his crimes in Taiwan and Hong Kong. To the audience’s surprise, Jeong served his time and now faces new assault charges with new victims.
JMS church failed to stop the docuseries premiere to Netflix’s surmounting evidence
According to Koreaboo, JMS filed a suit to Seoul’s Western Circuit Court to stop Netflix from premiering In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal. Audiences can only imagine why after watching the docuseries for themselves. The three episodes look into every nook and cranny and detail about Jeong and JMS’s crime against its female members. But JMS is still active and has devoted followers who do not believe the victims’ testimonies about their leader.
JMS filed the suit accusing the docuseries of “defamation.” But their efforts were futile when, on March 2, Seoul’s Western Circuit Court dismissed their request. They commented that JMS’s evidence did not disprove the events in the docuseries.
“Netflix and its affiliates seem to have collected a considerable amount of objective data and created a program around this. It is difficult to disprove the data as false solely based on the evidence submitted by JMS,” said Seoul’s Western Circuit Court judge.
In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal went above and beyond to catalog the truth behind JMS and the other cult leaders. Audiences also see first-hand testimony from Maple, one of the church’s former higher-up members, and a bride. In recent years, she had spoken out publically to prove JMS’s mistreatment. One of the harrowing pieces of evidence is Maple’s first-hand voice recording of the last assault she endured by Jeong. But according to the creator, there is even more evidence.
‘In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal’ only shows part of how horrible JMS really is
It is hard to imagine that what audiences saw in In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal is only part of the truth. According to Koreaboo, director Cho Sung-hyun revealed there is a lot more evidence to prove JMS’s inhuman acts. What audiences saw was only roughly 10%.
“I am aware there is controversy regarding the sexual content, but the important thing is that everything said is true. It was tough for us to listen to the content while gathering testimonies because the stories were so traumatizing. Nevertheless, we had to tell the truth, and we only told what needed to be told which lowered the ‘level’ to one-tenth of reality,” explained Cho.
While knowing the first 10 minutes of the docuseries is hard to stomach, Cho knew JMS would end up watching the docuseries. He wanted to put the truth of their leader and JMS’s crimes at the forefront.
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