Prosecution Seeks 30-Year Prison Sentence... Jeong's Side Denies Charges
Jung Myung-seok, the president of the Christian Gospel Mission (JMS), who was sentenced to 23 years in prison and detained in the first trial, had his sentence reduced to 17 years in the appellate court.
On the 2nd, the Criminal Division 3 of the Daejeon High Court (Chief Judge Kim Byung-sik) sentenced Jung to 17 years in prison in the appellate trial for charges including quasi-rape, quasi-simulated rape, forced molestation, and quasi-forced molestation.
The appellate court largely upheld the original judgment, maintaining the guilty verdict in relation to the psychological state of the victims and Jung’s religious status. However, the court excluded the audio recording of the crime scene submitted by the victims in the first trial as evidence. Although there was no evidence that the recording was manipulated or edited, the court ruled that the evidentiary value could not be recognized because the identity and integrity of the original file were not proven.
Jung was detained and indicted on charges of molesting or sexually assaulting Maple (29), a female believer of Hong Kong nationality, 23 times from February 2018 to September 2021 at the training center in Wolmyeong-dong, Jinsan-myeon, Geumsan-gun, Chungnam, and sexually molesting Amy (30), a female believer of Australian nationality, and Korean female believers.
The prosecution stated in the indictment that Jung called himself the Messiah and committed the crimes after brainwashing the believers. The first trial court recognized Jung’s charges and sentenced him to 23 years in prison. Jung’s side claimed factual and legal errors and improper sentencing, while the prosecution appealed for a heavier punishment.
The prosecution argued, "The defendant committed the same type of crime during the recidivism period. As the president of a religious organization, he continuously brainwashed the victim believers by abusing his religious status. He justified the sexual violence as if it were a religious act," and requested a 30-year prison sentence. Jung’s side denied the charges, arguing that the female believers were neither brainwashed nor in a state incapable of resistance, both in the first trial and the appellate trial.
Previously, Jung was sentenced to 10 years in prison and served his sentence for molesting or sexually assaulting four female believers in their 20s at a resort in Malaysia, an apartment in Hong Kong, and a lodging in Ansan, China, from August 2001 to April 2006.
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