Prosecutors sought 27 years in prison for Jeong Myeong-seok (81), head of the Christian Gospel Mission (JMS), who was additionally indicted on charges of raping or molesting 16 female believers in more than 80 incidents.
At the closing hearing on charges including quasi-rape against Jeong Myeong-seok, held on the 7th before the Daejeon District Court Criminal Division 11 (Presiding Judge Park Woo-geun, Director General judge), prosecutors asked the court to sentence him to 27 years in prison.
Prosecutors also requested orders for a 10-year employment restriction at institutions related to children, adolescents, and people with disabilities, 20 years of electronic monitoring, and 5 years of probation.
The prosecutor said, "Based on the victims' specific and consistent statements, corroborating witness accounts, and various evidence, the charges are substantiated," and noted, "As the leader of a religious group, the elderly male used his human and material systems to religiously brainwash young female believers."
The prosecutor continued, "He exploited the trust relationships of believers who were economically vulnerable to offend continuously and repeatedly," and emphasized, "He also committed secondary harm by claiming the victims were false accusers or were motivated by money."
The prosecutor said, "It is unfavorable that the defendant committed the crimes during the repeat-offender period for similar offenses, denies the crimes and shows no remorse, and forced the victims not to report," adding, "However, it is favorable that these offenses are in post-offense concurrence with the earlier crimes."
Following the sentencing request, the defense's final arguments were held behind closed doors to protect the victims of sex crimes.
From 2018 to 2022, at facilities including the Wolmyeongdong retreat center in Jinsan-myeon, Geumsan-gun, South Chungcheong Province, Jeong was brought to trial on charges of making 16 female believers believe he was the "Messiah," rendering them unable to resist, and then raping or molesting them in more than 80 incidents.
He is also accused of threatening victims of rape and forcing them to write written pledges not to file complaints.
During the trial, Jeong has completely denied the charges, saying he had no physical contact with the female believers and they were not in a psychologically incapacitated state.
Separately, Jeong is currently serving a 17-year sentence at Daejeon Prison, finalized by the Supreme Court in Jan. last year, for raping a Hong Kong national female believer, Maple, and molesting an Australian national female believer, Amy, and a Korean female believer.
He previously served a prison term for sex crimes. From Aug. 2001 to Apr. 2006, Jeong was sentenced to 10 years in prison for molesting or raping four female believers in their 20s at a resort in Malaysia, an apartment in Hong Kong, and lodging in Ansan, China, and was released in Feb. 2018 after serving his sentence.
After his release, revelations that he again committed sex crimes against female believers led to additional complaints, and this case was also brought to trial separately.
Since Jeong was first indicted in May 2024 in this case, additional cases were subsequently consolidated, and the trial has continued for more than two years.
Earlier, prosecutors sought seven years in prison for Kim Ji-seon, the No. 2 figure in JMS who was indicted together for aiding Jeong's sex crimes, and between one year and three years and six months for four other executives, respectively.
They are accused of luring victims to Jeong and abetting his sex crimes, or of threatening rape victims and forcing them to write pledges not to file complaints.
The sentencing hearing for Jeong is scheduled for the 1st of next month.