Court Orders Lee Jaerok and Manmin Church to Pay 1.2 Billion KRW in Compensation to Sexual Assault Victims

Court Lee Jae-rok Manmin Church
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Pastor Lee Jaerok of Manmin Central Holiness Church (Manmin Church), who was convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting several followers, and the church have been ordered by the court to pay a total compensation of over 1 billion KRW to the victims.

According to the legal community on the 27th, the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 46 (Presiding Judge Kwangyoung Lee) ruled partially in favor of the plaintiffs in a damages lawsuit filed by seven victims against Pastor Lee and Manmin Church.

The court ordered Pastor Lee and Manmin Church jointly to pay 200 million KRW each to four victims and 160 million KRW each to three victims, totaling 1.28 billion KRW.

The court found that Pastor Lee was responsible for compensating damages for committing habitual sexual assault and molestation against the victims. It also held Manmin Church, as the employer, accountable.

The court pointed out, "Pastor Lee had the duty to protect victims who had absolute faith in his religious authority and to guide them on the right path of faith, but instead, he habitually molested or raped them over a long period."

Additionally, the court ruled that pastors and followers who spread negative rumors or disclosed personal information about the victims must jointly pay the victims 10 to 20 million KRW each along with Manmin Church.

It was revealed that when Pastor Lee was prosecuted for sexual assault, these individuals defamed the victims by spreading rumors such as "the victim lived wrongly and is falsely accusing Chairman (Pastor Lee)" and disclosed the victims' personal details.

Previously, Pastor Lee was prosecuted for sexually assaulting and molesting nine Manmin Church followers over 40 times for several years and was sentenced to 16 years in prison by the Supreme Court.

Some victims filed a civil lawsuit in October 2018, claiming damages from the sexual assaults by Pastor Lee. The court began full hearings on the case from August last year after the criminal case verdict against Pastor Lee was finalized.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.