Prosecution Seeks 30-Year Prison Sentence for JMS Jeong Myeong-seok on Charges of Sexual Assault Against Female Followers

"Posing as Messiah, Committing Crimes Against Multiple Female Followers"

The prosecution has sought a heavy sentence for Jeong Myeong-seok (78), the leader of the Christian Gospel Mission (commonly known as JMS), who is accused of sexually assaulting female followers.

On the 21st, the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office requested a 30-year prison sentence at the sentencing trial held before the 12th Criminal Division of the Daejeon District Court (Chief Judge Na Sang-hoon) for Jeong's charges of quasi-rape and others. Along with this, they requested an order to complete 500 hours of sexual violence treatment programs, an order to attach an electronic tracking device (electronic anklet) for 20 years, and a 10-year employment restriction order for child and youth-related institutions and welfare facilities for the disabled.

The prosecution stated the reason for the sentence request: "The defendant, the leader of a religious organization, impersonated the Messiah and committed serious crimes by using the JMS organization to sexually offend numerous female followers, showing a grave nature of the crime."

They also criticized, "The defendant and female JMS executives brainwashed the victims, abused their trust to commit sexual crimes, and the victims are pleading for severe punishment due to extreme suffering. They attempted to destroy evidence systematically by instructing personal secretaries to change their phones and shamelessly committed secondary harm by claiming the victims were abnormal." They added, "They showed contempt for the judiciary by filing a recusal motion for the court without reasonable grounds solely to delay the trial, and exerted undue pressure on the judiciary through collective actions such as gatherings and posting banners."

Jeong was arrested and indicted on charges of quasi-rape and others for molesting or sexually assaulting Maple (29), a Hong Kong national female follower, 23 times from February 2018 to September 2021 at training centers such as Wolmyeong-dong in Jinsan-myeon, Geumsan-gun, Chungnam, and for sexually molesting Amy (30), an Australian national female follower, and a Korean female follower. He was also indicted on false accusation charges after two foreign female followers falsely accused him of sexual crimes and filed counter-complaints with the police. Investigations revealed that Jeong called himself the Messiah, brainwashed his followers, and then committed the crimes.

Jeong's defense denied the charges during the trial, stating that the accusers were not sexually brainwashed or unable to resist, and that he clearly stated he was "not God but a human."

Including these cases, a total of 21 women have filed complaints with investigative agencies accusing Jeong of sexual assault, forced molestation, or quasi-forced molestation.

The trial on this day was resumed after a five-month suspension due to Jeong's side filing a recusal motion against the judge (a criminal procedure law system where the prosecutor or defendant can request the exclusion of a judge from performing duties if there is concern about an unfair trial). Although Jeong's side filed the recusal motion again despite the Supreme Court's final dismissal, the court dismissed it, recognizing it as a clear attempt to delay the trial, and the trial was held again that day.

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