Original article from JeongGyeong Sisa News dated on 30 July 2025 | archived
The full story of the incident was revealed on the 19th floor of the Seoul Press Center on the afternoon of July 28th (2025).
Host reporter Ryu Jae-bok opens the door to revealing the truth about the manipulation.
[Jeonggyeong Sisa Focus Reporter Baek Jeong-mi] On the afternoon of the 28th, at 3 PM, a press conference was held in the Chrysanthemum Room on the 19th floor of the Korea Press Center located behind Seoul City Hall, stating that the JMS portion of the Netflix docu-series, In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal, broadcasted on March 3, 2023 was false, fabricated, and stitched together.
The press conference that day was hosted by Ryu Jaebok, a senior reporter and publisher of Jeonggyeong Sisa Focus. In his opening remarks, he stated, “I have been covering the court proceedings related to Pastor Jung Myung-seok of the Christian Gospel Mission, also known as JMS, for the past two years. Through this coverage, I have come to firmly believe that the trial lacked sufficient evidence and that the charges should be dismissed. Based on this, I authored the book Jung Myung-seok Is Innocent. Why?“
Ryu continued, “In the United States, a strict evidentiary principle is applied in all criminal cases, especially those involving sexual offenses. However, South Korea has ignored this standard, and I express deep concern over the fact that, based solely on public opinion, ignorance, and disregard for proper evidence, an 80-year-old elderly man has been sentenced to 17 years in prison.”
Ryu continued, “Producer Lee Chang-heon, an MBC outsourced producer who had been preparing the press conference with me for the past five months, sent an absurd text message on July 16, a week before the press conference, saying, “I was kidnapped by gangsters, threatened with death, and was released after writing a statement withdrawing from the press conference.” As a result of this incident, both core producers were unable to attend today’s event, and I sincerely ask for your understanding that I am proceeding with this press conference alone. I extend my deepest condolences and words of comfort to Pastor Jung Myung-seok, who is currently serving a 17-year prison sentence at Daejeon Correctional Facility as a result of the malicious program In the Name of God that aired two years ago.”
Ryu continued, “The original purpose of the formal press conference, in which the two producers were scheduled to participate, was to reveal the false information in the JMS portion of the In the Name of God broadcast, to file for a retrial seeking Pastor Jung Myung-seok’s acquittal based on these facts, and to uncover evidence of the truth. This is because we had access to core evidence and materials that could directly impact the outcome of a retrial.”
Ryue continued, “The two individuals who had agreed to attend today’s press conference are key production staff: Mr. Hwang Do-hyun and Ms. Ko Hye-rim. The two individuals, through a pre-recorded statement, expressed their intention to participate in the pursuit of justice by confessing the manipulation involved and expressing their belief in Pastor Jung’s innocence.”
The production team of “I Am God” exposed fabrication through recordings of Hwang Do-hyun and Ko Hye-rim.
Ryu said, “They had planned to disclose the original iPhone and USIM chip containing the audio recording from the alleged victim that was never submitted to the court during Pastor Jung’s original trial. However, a sudden incident intended to obstruct this press conference occurred, preventing them from participating and revealing these critical materials”
Ryu added, “The broadcast, along with many other so-called investigative programs, completely violated ethical standards regarding the coverage of sexual violence and harassment. It ignored the principles of fairness, balance, and empathy that are expected in responsible journalism. As a result, this program has provided no meaningful value to our society. It was a malicious broadcast, a false and sensationalist production with the sole intent of destroying JMS and its founder, Pastor Jung Myung-seok. Rather than promoting truth or justice, it incited evil over good—a truly deranged broadcast.”
Reporter Ryu Jae-bok said, “The purpose of this press conference is to raise awareness about the unjust situation facing President Jung Myung-seok of the Christian Gospel Mission, who is currently serving a 17-year prison sentence in Daejeon Detention Center and enduring this unbearable summer heat. As an active journalist, I believe I have a public duty to speak out.” He continued, “I have come to this place today with the weight of my 40-year career in journalism on my shoulders. I am not a JMS member. My father was a monk, and I’m a practicing Buddhist. I have extensively covered various religious groups from different faiths as a field reporter. In particular, I have a tendency to take on reporting assignments that others avoid. The reason I began covering President Jung’s case is because someone in my family, who served three terms as a National Assembly member, is a hometown friend of President Jung. He tipped me off about the case, which led me to start reporting on it.”
He said, “In my 40 years as a journalist, I have never seen someone so unfairly tried and utterly crushed by public opinion alone. So, based on the materials I collected during my coverage and the court records, I ended up publishing a book titled, Jung Myung-seok: He Is Innocent. Why?”
Regarding the reason for holding a press conference alone on this day, he said, “Originally, a team consisting of scriptwriter Ko Hye-rim, field writer Hwang Do-hyun, Producer Kim Sung-ki, and I were planning to expose the massive manipulation behind the Netflix documentary In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal, which aired in March 2023, through a public conscience declaration.” He continued, “The individuals who planned and organized this whistleblowing effort were Kim Sung-ki, a producer from In the Name of God, and Lee Chang-heon, an outsourced producer. The entire effort began when Producer Lee Chang-heon contacted me by phone on February 27.”
Ryu continued, “At that time, Producer Lee Chang-heon did not call my cell phone but reached out through our newsroom line and said, “I am Producer Lee Chang-heon, who participated in the production of the Netflix documentary In the Name of God. I want to expose that this broadcast was made with lies, manipulation, and splicing.” ”
Ryu continued, “After that, he came to me to discuss matters together. For the past five months, we have prepared this press conference together to reveal the truth, and we also jointly drafted the press release. Since then, I have met with Producer Lee Chang-heon eight times, and there is evidence of over 200 phone calls exchanged between us. However, on July 16, Producer Lee Chang-heon suddenly sent me a bizarre message saying, “I was kidnapped by gangsters and received death threats. They told me, ‘Your life comes first, so sign a statement promising to withdraw from the press conference.’ I signed it and was released.” Although they’ve backed out of joining the press conference, I still waited here until now for them to come. But in the end, all three did not show up. These individuals had bravely expressed their intention to make a conscience declaration, which is why this press conference was prepared. It’s truly regrettable.”
(Continued in Part 2)
