JYP threatens legal action, denies he is not religious cult member

By Park Sae-jin Posted : May 2, 2018, 18:09 Updated : May 2, 2018, 18:09

[J. Y. Park's Instagram]


SEOUL -- Park Jin-young, the head of South Korea's major entertainment agency JYP,  threatened Wednesday to take legal action against a domestic online media for making false reports that he was a member of a religious cult associated with the owner of the ferry that sank in 2014 with the loss of 304 people.

Together with multiple pictures, video and audio files, Dispatch reported that Park was spotted preaching enthusiastically and talking about his own interpretation of the bible at a religious meeting in Seoul in March with members of Guwonpa (Salvation Sect). Actor Bae Yong-joon was spotted attending the event.

In a statement uploaded onto his social media, Park insisted it was an ordinary bible study meeting. "I have no personal ties or business ties with Salvation Sect," he said, warning Dispatch he would take legal responsibility if it cannot prove its report is correct.

"If there were any misconduct in the meeting or if it were unethical, I would say your report was appropriate," he said.

To show the sincerity of his Christian faith, he uploaded another post titled "Faith, the size of a mustard seed!", a common Christian parable which originated from Jesus' teachings that if a person has a faith small as a mustard seed, he can command a mountain to move and it will do so.

The overloaded Sewol ferry was carrying 476 people including 325 high school students when it sank off the southern island of Jindo. The wreckage of Sewol has been lifted off the seabed. 
 
Yoo Byung-eun, the late businessman who owned a company operating the ferry, was a Salvation Sect leader. He was found dead after months of hiding despite a massive police hunt.

The disaster was blamed on the ship's illegal redesign and overloading left unchecked by regulators. It has been a key reason for the impeachment and ouster of South Korea's jailed ex-president Park Geun-hye.

Back in 2014, Park was dogged by similar reports because his wife is Yoo's niece. At the time, he strongly denied his involvement in the sect. Dispatch claimed Park and his wife have been Salvation Sect members.
 
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