JMS Jeong Myeong-seok Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison for Alleged Sexual Assault of Female Followers

Jung Myung-seok, the president (78) of the Christian Gospel Mission (JMS), who was tried on charges of sexually assaulting and molesting female believers, was sentenced to a heavy prison term.

The Criminal Division 12 of Daejeon District Court (Chief Judge Na Sang-hoon) sentenced Jung to 23 years in prison on the 22nd for charges including quasi-rape, quasi-sexual assault, sexual molestation, and quasi-sexual molestation. He was also ordered to wear an electronic location tracking device (electronic anklet) for 15 years and was banned from working in child and youth-related institutions and welfare facilities for the disabled for 10 years.

Jung Myung Seok, JMS President (left)

This sentence exceeds the sentencing guidelines of the Supreme Court Sentencing Commission (4 years to 19 years and 3 months in prison). Previously, the prosecution had requested a 30-year prison term for Jung during the final trial.

The court explained the reason for the heavy sentence, stating, "He repeatedly committed sexual violence against many believers who were religiously vulnerable, and he deliberately exploited the mental and physical disability of female believers who obeyed the defendant."

It added, "From the investigation agencies to the court, he denied the crimes, causing serious secondary harm to the victims, and multiple witnesses gave false statements to the investigation agencies, obstructing the investigation in an organized manner."

The court also stated, "Despite the existence of audio recordings, he denied the charges with the will to 'cover the sky with his palm,' verbally attacked the victims, and even filed false accusations against them. He abused the right to request disqualification, delaying the trial and damaging public trust in the fairness of the trial."

Jung was previously sentenced to 10 years in prison for molesting or sexually assaulting four female believers in their 20s at locations such as a resort in Malaysia, an apartment in Hong Kong, and lodging in Ansan, China, from August 2001 to April 2006, and was released in February 2018 after serving his sentence.

After his release, from March 2018 to September 2021, he was arrested and indicted for molesting or sexually assaulting Maple (29), a Hong Kong national female believer, 23 times at training centers such as Wolmyeong-dong in Jinsan-myeon, Geumsan-gun, Chungnam, as well as sexually molesting Amy (30), an Australian national female believer, and Korean female believers.

He is also accused of filing countercharges with the police, claiming that foreign female believers falsely accused him of sexual crimes.

To date, 21 women, including minors, have reported Jung to investigative agencies on charges of sexual assault or molestation.

Four female JMS executives, including Kim Ji-sun (44, female), the JMS 'second-in-command,' and Kim (51, female), the head of the civil affairs department, who participated in Jung's crimes, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 1 year and 6 months to 7 years in the recent first trial.

On the day of the verdict, the police deployed over 130 officers from two companies throughout the court in preparation for a large gathering of believers.

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