Previous Judge Recusal, Supreme Court Final Dismissal
Jung Myung-seok "Fair Trial Not Achieved"
Court "Dismissal Possible if Litigation Delay Is Clear"
The president of the Christian Gospel Mission (JMS), Jeong Myeong-seok, who has been indicted on charges of sexually assaulting female followers, has once again filed a motion to disqualify the judge. Despite the Supreme Court’s final dismissal of Jeong Myeong-seok’s previous motion to disqualify the judge, the renewed motion has cast uncertainty over the trial schedule, which was set to resume in mid-month.
According to the legal community on the 14th, Jeong Myeong-seok’s legal team filed a motion to disqualify Judge Na Sang-hoon, who is presiding over the case involving charges of quasi-rape and other offenses against Jeong Myeong-seok. A motion to disqualify a judge is a system under Article 18 of the Criminal Procedure Act, whereby the prosecutor or defendant can request the exclusion of a judge from performing duties if there is concern that the judge may conduct an unfair trial. Once such a motion is filed, the litigation is suspended, and another panel of the same court decides whether to accept the motion.
Previously, on July 17, Jeong Myeong-seok’s side filed a motion to disqualify Judge Na, citing that “a fair trial is not being conducted” in the case involving charges of quasi-rape and other offenses. However, after the motion was dismissed in the first trial, they immediately filed an objection, and after it was dismissed again in the second trial, they filed a further appeal to the Supreme Court.
President Jeong Myeong-seok of the Christian Gospel Mission (commonly known as JMS). [Photo by MBC 'True Story Exploration Team' capture]
There are also criticisms that Jeong Myeong-seok’s repeated motions to disqualify the judge may be intended to deliberately delay the trial. Throughout the trial process, Jeong’s side unusually requested the examination of 22 witnesses, and many of the witnesses they requested failed to appear, causing repeated delays in the trial. A court official stated, “If it is clearly judged that Jeong’s motion to disqualify is aimed at delaying the litigation, the current trial panel handling the case can immediately decide whether to dismiss the motion.”
A representative of the JMS victims’ group said, “The longer the disqualification motion case drags on, the more the names and faces of sexual assault victims are indiscriminately exposed by JMS cult followers, resulting in secondary victimization,” adding, “What is happening now goes beyond secondary victimization to the level of retaliatory crime, so we urge a prompt conclusion to the disqualification motion hearing.”
Meanwhile, Jeong Myeong-seok is currently on trial after being detained and indicted on charges of quasi-rape against two female followers of Hong Kong and Australian nationality, committed 23 times from February 2018 to September 2021 at the training center in Wolmyeong-dong, Geumsan-gun, Chungnam. He is also charged with molesting a Korean female follower by fondling her thigh while transporting her in a golf cart in August 2018.
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