Loud Disturbance During Worship Over Administrative Complaints... Supreme Court Sentences to 1 Year Imprisonment for Habitual Disruption

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] A church member who was dissatisfied with church administration and disrupted the worship service by shouting and cursing was sentenced to imprisonment.

On the 20th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Min Yusook) announced that it upheld the lower court's ruling sentencing Mr. A, who was tried on charges including disruption of worship, to one year in prison and a fine of 1 million won.

Mr. A is accused of cursing the senior pastor or church members and disrupting worship at a church located in Suwon-si, Gyeonggi Province, between 2017 and 2019. Although he had been previously sentenced to a suspended prison term in April 2018 for disrupting worship, he repeatedly committed the offenses and was brought to trial multiple times.

It is known that Mr. A shouted loudly during worship, saying things like "Aigo Juyeo" and "Amen," causing a disturbance. Investigations revealed that he began disrupting worship after conflicts with other church members over the disposal of church property.

The first trial recognized most of Mr. A's charges and sentenced him to one year in prison and a fine of 1 million won. The court pointed out that despite having already received fines and suspended prison sentences for the same offenses, he repeatedly disrupted worship to the extent that religious events became difficult to hold.

The second trial also found no grounds for appeal and upheld the first trial's decision. The second trial explained, "In the crime of disrupting worship, the disruptive act does not necessarily have to occur during the execution of the worship service. Even if it occurs in the preparatory stage closely and inseparably related to the execution and timing of the worship, the crime of disrupting worship is established."

The Supreme Court also rejected Mr. A's appeal.

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