Prosecutors seek 30-year sentence for cult leader convicted of sexual assault

Prosecutors are seeking a 30-year prison sentence for Jeong Myeong-seok, leader of the controversial pseudo-Christian religious organization Jesus Morning Star (JMS), for sexually assaulting and harassing his female followers.

Jeong Myeong-seok, the leader of Jesus Morning Star, or JMS [SBS]

Prosecutors are seeking a 30-year prison sentence for Jeong Myeong-seok, leader of the controversial pseudo-Christian religious organization Jesus Morning Star (JMS), for sexually assaulting and harassing his female followers.

The prosecution demanded the sentence during the final hearing for an appeals case held Friday at Daejeon High Court. It also asked that Jeong go through 500 hours of sexual assault rehabilitation education and wear an ankle monitor.

“The defendant is denying his crimes and not showing remorse,” said the prosecution during the hearing. “Considering that his accomplices are hiding his crimes and that his followers are committing secondary victimization, he needs a heavier sentence than the 23 years sought for in the first trial.”

“I have not done anything that the accusers said I had done, I swear to God,” Jeong said during the trial. “I did not need to impose my authority or invoke religious doctrines. They all came to me because they liked me, so I didn't have to brainwash them.”

The sentence for the appeals trial will be announced on Oct. 2.

Jeong, who lured people into the cult by calling himself the messiah, completed his previous 10-year prison term in February 2018 after sexually assaulting and harassing four women followers in their 20s from 2001 to 2006 while staying in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Ansan, Gyeonggi.

After he finished his sentence, he was accused of sexually assaulting a 28-year-old woman follower from Hong Kong 23 times between February 2018 and September 2021 and sexually harassing a 30-year-old woman from Australia in 2018.

The Daejeon District Court issued an arrest warrant in October 2022, after which he was put on trial. The court sentenced Jeong to 23 years in prison for sexual assault in December 2023.

Jeong appealed, claiming the sentence was unfair and that facts were misconstrued. The prosecution also filed for an appeal, arguing that the sentence was not heavy enough.

The JMS cult and Jeong’s crimes came under fire after being exposed through a popular Netflix documentary series titled "In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal," which was released in May last year.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]