The Court Decides to Set the Next Hearing Date Later Considering Related Trials
The lawsuit seeking billions of won in damages filed by victims against Jeong Myeong-seok, the founder of the Christian Gospel Mission (JMS), who was sentenced to 17 years in prison in the second trial for sexually assaulting and molesting female followers, has begun.
According to Yonhap News, on the 26th, the Civil Division 12 of Daejeon District Court (Chief Judge Ham Seok-cheon) held the first hearing for the damages claim filed by three victims, including A, a Hong Kong national, against Jeong, Kim Ji-seon (a pseudonym Jeong Jo-eun), known as the second-in-command of JMS, and the JMS denomination.
The total claim amount is 750 million won, with Maple, a Hong Kong national, claiming 500 million won, Amy, an Australian national, and a Korean believer claiming 150 million won and 100 million won respectively.
The plaintiffs' legal representatives explained the reason for the claim, stating, "We seek compensation from Jeong and the denomination for Jeong's quasi-rape sexual crimes," and added, "Kim Ji-seon was also found guilty of joint commission of quasi-rape and is responsible for compensation."
In response, the defendants' lawyer argued, "The only evidence related to the claim is the criminal trial judgment of Jeong, and since the appeal trial for the case is currently ongoing, the proof of the cause of the claim is in a fluid state," and claimed, "The JMS denomination has no grounds for the damages claim."
Kim Ji-seon's legal representative also stated that it is necessary to wait and see the outcome of Jeong's Supreme Court ruling but argued that the amount claimed for damages is excessive.
The court, summarizing both parties' positions and considering the ongoing related trials, decided to designate the next hearing date later. However, it requested both the defendant and the plaintiff to submit written preparations.
Previously, Jeong was arrested and indicted on charges of sexually molesting the victims 23 times at training centers in Geumsan-gun, Chungnam, from February 2018 to September 2021. The first trial court recognized Jeong's charges and sentenced him to 23 years in prison. The second trial court overturned the original sentence, stating that the first trial's sentence did not meet the Supreme Court's sentencing guidelines, and sentenced him to 17 years in prison. Jeong's side has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court against this.
Kim Ji-seon (Jeong Jo-eun), the second-in-command of JMS who participated in Jeong's sexual crimes, was sentenced to seven years in prison in both the first and second trials for charges including quasi-rape, and her sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court last October.
Separately, the prosecution identified that Jeong and his associates committed sexual violence 19 times against two other believers in May and have additionally indicted them.
Meanwhile, Jeong was sentenced to 10 years in prison for molesting or raping four female followers 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, and after serving his sentence, he was released in February 2018.
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