Jung Myung-seok, the leader of the Christian Gospel Mission (commonly known as JMS) who was put on trial for sexually assaulting female followers by exploiting religious brainwashing, has been handed another heavy prison sentence.
The 11th Criminal Division of the Daejeon District Court sentenced Jung to 33 years in prison today (October 19) on charges including quasi-rape.
The court also issued orders for the disclosure of his personal information for 10 years, a 10-year employment restriction at institutions related to children, adolescents, and people with disabilities, and the attachment of a location-tracking electronic device for 15 years.
Jung was indicted on charges of brainwashing 16 female followers into believing he was the "Messiah" to render them unable to resist, and subsequently abusing and sexually assaulting them between 2018 and 2022 at locations including the Wolmyeongdong training center in Jinsan-myeon, Geumsan-gun, South Chungcheong Province.
This case is separate from a previous Supreme Court ruling that finalized a 17-year prison sentence for Jung for sexually assaulting a Hong Kong national female follower named Maple, and forcibly groping an Australian national female follower named Amy as well as a South Korean female follower.
At that time, after Jung was released from prison in February 2018 having served a finalized 10-year prison sentence for charges including bodily injury resulting from rape, he committed sex crimes against female followers once again. When these facts came to light through exposures by Maple and others, a series of additional complaints followed, leading to separate legal proceedings.
Following his initial indictment for this case in May 2024, subsequent cases were sequentially consolidated. The trial continued for over two years before the first-instance ruling was delivered today.
Jung completely denied the charges, claiming that he had never made physical contact with the female followers and that they were not in a state of psychological incapacity to resist, but the court rejected his claims.
The court stated that all 16 victims provided statements that were so detailed and consistent that they could not have been described without direct experience of the crime scenes and other circumstances.
It further ruled that the victims were in a state of psychological incapacity to resist, unable to make critical judgments due to repeated education that deified Jung and demanded absolute obedience.
Regarding the sentencing, the court added that Jung held an absolute position as a religious leader and repeatedly abused multiple female followers using hierarchical power.
It also explained that the crimes were repeatedly committed by leveraging the religious control structure and influence he had built over a long period, despite having previously received a prison sentence.
The court emphasized that despite the immense severity of the damage inflicted on the victims by these crimes, Jung denied the offenses by claiming that the victims' statements were false.
It further stated that because this case involved more victims and a higher frequency of crimes than the previous case, a more severe punishment than the prior ruling was inevitable.
Kim Ji-sun, a high-ranking figure in the Christian Gospel Mission who was co-indicted on charges of complicity in Jung's sexual assault crimes, was sentenced to 7 years in prison.
Kim, known as Jung's successor, was indicted on charges of brainwashing followers into believing Jung was the Messiah in 2018 and aiding and abetting Jung in sexually assaulting or groping three female followers.
Kim was also previously convicted and is currently serving a sentence after a 7-year prison term was finalized in October 2024 for participating in Jung's quasi-quasi-rape crimes—such as handing pajamas to Hong Kong national female follower Maple between March and April 2018 and instructing her to sleep there while guarding the Lord.
Three other Christian Gospel Mission executives, who were indicted on charges of aiding and abetting Jung's sexual assaults or assisting in the commission of sex crimes, were sentenced to prison terms of 3 years and suspended prison sentences, respectively.
They were accused of luring victims who were Christian Gospel Mission female followers between 2018 and 2022 to help Jung commit sex crimes, or coercing a sexual assault victim into writing a pledge not to file a criminal complaint through threats.
However, one person indicted on the same charges was acquitted.
(Photo: Provided by Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, Yonhap News)
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