'Goddess Sexual Assault' JMS Jung Myung-seok's Additional Sexual Crime Case Merged in First Trial

Another 8 Female Followers Accused of Sexual Assault 28 Times

The first-instance court currently trying Jeong Myeong-seok, the president of the Christian Gospel Mission (JMS), on charges of sexually assaulting female followers has decided to consolidate and hear an additional case involving eight other female followers who were victims of sexual crimes by Jeong.

Jung Myung Seok JMS Founder

The 11th Criminal Division of the Daejeon District Court (Chief Judge Choi Seok-jin) held a trial on the 10th for Jeong, A (48), Jeong’s personal doctor and former JMS pastor, as well as four others including JMS personnel manager and VIP administrator, on charges including quasi-rape, joint coercion, and aiding quasi-rape, and decided to hear the additional indictment together with the existing trial case.

Earlier, the Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office additionally indicted Jeong on charges of sexually assaulting eight female followers of the JMS church 28 times (including forcible molestation, quasi-rape, and quasi-forcible molestation) and requested the court to consolidate the case with the ongoing first-instance trial. Jeong’s defense counsel also requested the court to consolidate the two cases into one trial for the sake of litigation efficiency and to ensure the defendant’s right to defense.

The court continued witness examinations related to the existing case on the day and decided to hear the additional indictment at the next hearing.

Jeong Myeong-seok was arrested and indicted on charges of sexually molesting female followers from Hong Kong, Australia, and Korean communities 23 times between February 2018 and September 2021 at a training center in Geumsan-gun, Chungnam Province, and was sentenced to 23 years in prison in the first trial and 17 years in the second trial. He has appealed to the Supreme Court against these rulings.

Separately, the prosecution identified that Jeong and JMS executives committed sexual violence 19 times against two other female followers as of May, and indicted four people including Jeong and JMS executives. The first-instance trial is currently underway at the Daejeon District Court.

Previously, Jeong Myeong-seok 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 China between August 2001 and April 2006. He served his sentence and was released in February 2018.