The lower court on Wednesday dismissed an injunction request against the release of a controversial film that puts into question North Korea’s responsibility for the sinking of a South Korean warship in 2010.

The Uijeongbu District Court allowed the “Cheonan Project” to be shown to audiences from Thursday as scheduled.

The “Cheonan Project” is a 75-minute documentary that raises questions as to whether the North Korean military was indeed at fault, as South Korean government officials strongly argued, when the South Korean naval corvette Cheonan sank in March 2010, killing 46 sailors.

Representatives of the sailors’ families and the ship’s former captain Choi Won-il had filed a lawsuit against the film’s release, saying that it violated the dead sailors’ honor and legacies by charging that something else may have been responsible. They were dismayed by the ruling and are contemplating whether to appeal the decision.

“Well, I have nothing to say at the moment other than that I am disappointed,” said Kim Yang-hong, the lawyer representing the families and Choi in the case.

Experts and laymen alike have sporadically questioned the findings of an international team of experts that was assigned to investigate the cause of the ship’s demise in the immediate aftermath of the incident. The team’s conclusions suggested that the North was the most likely cause although other scenarios could not be ruled out.

The filmmakers of the “Cheonan Project” meanwhile deny accusations they are slandering the dead sailors. They are trying to point out the stiffness of Korean society and the consequent lack of communication within, not trying to defame anyone, says director Baek Seung-woo.

By Jeong Hunny (hj257@heraldcorp.com)