The second part of 2023’s Korean docuseries, In The Name Of God, is finally on our screens, and this time, while we get 3 new cases, we also revisit one of the most horrendous cases out there. The JMS cult and scandal was definitely the hardest to sit through in season 1 because it gave us explicit footage, soundbites, and more that were honestly too triggering and hard to watch. A lot of this is revisited in episodes 3 and 4 of the second season, which tell us what happened after Maple came forward with her testimony, and the show became a huge success. The aftermath of putting herself out there, not just in terms of the law but also on television, was gravely negative for Maple. But we also get to hear more testimonials and other details of the case after the massive lawsuit that shook the nation, having a positive outcome at the end of the struggle. With that said, though, let’s jump into episodes 3 and 4 of The Echoes Of Survivors: Inside Korea’s Tragedies.
Who Is Jeong Jo-Eun?
In episode 3, we get a little bit of insight into what happened while the documentary was being shot and how much trouble the JMS people really put the PD in. We also see a lot more of Jo Seong-Hyeon, the creator of the show. First, we’re introduced to a private investigator who was hired by JMS to closely follow what the team of In The Name Of God was doing. He was even wired money and had no choice but to participate because he was worried he’d get in trouble. Does it make sense to put a private investigator on display on a global TV show? I’d imagine it would get you in big trouble with your clients, no? I guess not, because we’re straight-up told his name is Cho Hoon-Rae. The investigator was also given the name of a lieutenant named Cho So-Hyeon, along with Jo’s name. Meanwhile, if you remember in the first season, there were people following Jo; now we know that one of them was this investigator.
The story then shifts to Kim Do-Hyeong, the anti-JMS activist. In the first season, we saw how his father was brutally assaulted as a result of his anti-JMS activities. They even threatened to harm his wife and cut him up into pieces if he continued his work. The show then reiterates the point Maple was making by bringing on more testimonies, even if they’re by people who don’t want to show their faces or give out their names. It’s still progress, because after all that, 21 other people came out in support of Maple, saying the same thing happened to them as well. I would not want to go into the details of what kind of crimes the old pervert committed, though.
The episode then introduces a woman named Jeong Jo-Eun. Jo-Eun is seen crying because of the investigation into Myung-Seok’s sexual assault. She’s seen claiming that he didn’t do anything wrong and preaching how good the man is. Jo-Eun became Jung Myeong-Seok’s favorite lady after she put on an almost explicit performance for him to “give back glory to God.” She then basically sat in his lap, in front of everybody, showing everyone what her real plan was. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also very lean and tall, exactly the old creep’s “type,” so it wasn’t hard for her to become his most prized possession.
Jo-Eun was the one who was most resistant to Maple’s charges. Turns out, not only did she know about what he was doing to the girls, but she was an accomplice, sending the “right” girls to him to give him the best pick (yuck). She also got arrested back when JMS himself first got arrested, and then she made a big scene with the HK police, making him see her as a savior. She was then named an apostle by the rest of the cult. But when the man was arrested, she took over as the leader, making everyone follow her with her expensive garments and beautiful looks. She started acting like a celebrity herself, getting praise and lots of donations, making her uber-rich. After his release, Myung-Seok was already old and basically useless. From what I understand, she basically took over, and he was simply a pseudo-leader. As long as he got what he wanted, she continued to do what she loved.
But at the end of the episode, it’s revealed that crucial evidential videos from Maple were shared with the defense, which makes her break down. Kim Do-Hyeong specifically went to Hong Kong to tell her the sad news because it was too hard to share on the phone. Maple doesn’t know what she did wrong for such a disaster to strike, but she continued to fight on, waiting for it all to end.
Where Is JMS Now?
Episode 4 reveals that a lot of people in power are all JMS followers, too. It is honestly quite terrifying to see how many people follow this man, who has been accused of such nasty things. It’s revealed that all of the footage from the previous season was leaked to members of JMS by someone who was meant to transcribe the episodes. She’s now come clean and left JMS, too, because she was also put in the same position as Maple. Honestly, it’s quite horrifying that she had to go through the same thing to realize what the problem was.
Joo Bit-Seon was the deputy head of the department of external affairs at the organization. This department literally existed to make sure that JMS’s sexual crimes wouldn’t get him in trouble, and it worked for so many years! Bit-Seon, unfortunately, had passed on the footage to the organization, claiming it was God’s will to stop them from airing this stuff. The fact that it was Maple who was speaking out was a big deal because she was a prominent name at the cult, a young face that many people had seen and followed. Every step of the way, there was someone, either in the police department or a judge or somebody, who would stop things from getting bigger and keep JMS safe.
For some reason, the director even harassed a police officer who was called “Joo Su-Ho” by the cult because he was helping them as a police officer. He denied being a follower, but later, we see footage of him listening to JMS with a massive smile on his face. They tried to make Maple look like a “lunatic” so that JMS could walk free, but thankfully, this didn’t work. There was a woman named JB who sued Jeong for assault, but it went to the department of external affairs, leaving him scot-free. There was someone at the Geumsan police station who was a follower, but somehow, there was no investigation into this woman, who is still working in the police department after having changed her name. Later, the prosecutor general, who was in charge of JMS during the 2008 trials, was also revealed to be a friend/follower after the discovery of an image where the two met.
JMS tried to make it look like the videos of naked women were fabricated by Kim Do-Hyeong and that Maple was paid by him, too, just to make him look bad. The director even defends himself for releasing the video without the nudity being blurred out. A woman even admits to being in the video; I’m not sure this was necessary, but she claims it helped her escape the church.
JMS was given 23 years in prison, but in 2024, they appealed because they got hold of the videos Maple had shared as evidence. The sentence was cut down to 17 years, but fortunately, in 2025, the appeal was shut down, and the man is still in prison for 17 years. He’s 80 already, which means he will likely die in prison. On the other hand, Jo-Eun only got 7 years in prison, which is honestly such a low price to pay for what she’s done. But on the other hand, Maple is an entirely different person now; she’s living a happy life and even got married to the man she loved, who stood by her through all of this. No other girls will have to suffer at the hands of JMS. I suppose the documentary was a massive success, and it’s alleged that JMS’s following has halved ever since the docuseries was released.
