Religious organization 'Baby Garden', which filed a lawsuit against Netflix seeking 300 M KRW in damages over the documentary 'In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal', has lost the case in the Supreme Court.
According to legal sources on the 25th, the Third Division of the Supreme Court, upheld the lower court's ruling on the 23rd, which dismissed Baby Garden and its leader Kim Gisun's claims for damages against Netflix.
Netflix released an eight-episode documentary 'In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal' in March 2023, which covered the leaders of four religious organisations, including Baby Garden.
Baby Garden filed a lawsuit against Netflix claiming that Episode 5 and 6 of 'In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal' contained false information about the organization and its leader, Kim Gisun. The documentary contained allegations that Kim Gisun forced the followers to perform hard labor and that those who did not obey were beaten to death by other followers.
Baby Garden argued that Kim Gisun had been cleared of murder and fraud charges in 1997 and that the documentary's allegations were false.
Both the first and second courts rejected Baby Garden's claims.
The first trial ruled, "The documentary does not claim that Kim Gisun killed the victim or ordering the killing. In fact, the end of Episode 6 clearly states that the previous criminal case concluded with a 'not guilty' verdict." The court added, "Even if Kim Gisun felt uncomfortable, the documentary cannot be considered as defamatory or a malicious personal attack."
Baby Garden appealed the first ruling, but the second court rejected the appeal.
The Supreme Court also upheld the lower court's ruling, deciding not to proceed with a further hearing, and dismissed the case.
source: (1)
