Court denies Wonju city government's injunction request to ban 'Mount Chiak' opening

"Mount Chiak" is an upcoming horror film set around the urban legend that there were murder cases where the bodies were chopped up and buried at Chiak Mountain, an actual mountain in Wonju.

Main poster for ″Mount Chiak″ [DOHO ENTERTAINMENT]

The Seoul Central District Court turned down the Wonju City government and social groups' application for an injunction to ban the opening of "Mount Chiak" Tuesday.

"Mount Chiak" is an upcoming horror film set around the urban legend that there were murder cases where the bodies were chopped up and buried at Chiak Mountain, an actual mountain in Wonju.

The city government and local social groups have protested that the film could hurt the image of the mountain and the region. They had filed for an injunction to ban the film's opening, which is set for Wednesday.

"It cannot be said that the reputation of Chiak Mountain will be damaged or that viewers will have a negative impression of the location just because it appears in this film, which contains clearly fictional content," the court said. "It is difficult to say that there is a risk of significant damage to the rights or property of Wonju City and its citizens."

Social groups from Wonju had previously held a protest in front of the cinema where the conference for "Mount Chiak" was held on Aug. 31, calling for the cancellation of the film's opening.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]