Supreme Court upholds 7-year prison term for JMS leader's 'right-hand assistant'

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with a lower court’s ruling that handed down a seven-year prison term to the right-hand woman of religious cult leader and convicted sex offender Jeong Myeong-seok.

Kim Ji-sun, 46, is seen on a broadcast under her pseudonym Jeong Jo-eun. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with a lower court’s ruling that handed down a seven-year prison term to the right-hand woman of religious cult leader and convicted sex offender Jeong Myeong-seok.

Kim Ji-sun, 46, was suspected of assisting Jeong with sexual offenses and helped brainwash the followers of his religious group, dubbed Providence or Jesus Morning Star (JMS), by justifying Jeong's assaults.

Kim is convicted of assisting in Jeong's sexual offense in 2018 by instructing a JMS member from Hong Kong to sleep with him and handing a set of pajamas to the victim.

Also, the JoongAng Ilbo reported that Kim hand-picked several female followers who were "good-looking" in appearance.

Although Kim denied her charges, the lower district and appellate courts found her guilty and sentenced her to seven years in prison.

The local Daejeon District Court said Kim "lured the followers by standing at the forefront of deifying Jeong as a godlike figure," noting the financial benefits she earned through colluding with Jeong.

The top court also sentenced a 52-year-old official at JMS to three years in prison. The official was suspected of bringing back followers who ran away from the group and sending pictures of female followers' body parts to Jeong while he was serving a prison term. The Supreme Court confirmed those charges.

Another JMS official who translated Jeong's words to victims received an 18-month prison term, with a three-year suspension. The JoongAng Ilbo reported that the judiciary noted the interpreter's cooperation in the investigation and his admission of wrongdoing.

Jeong was sentenced to 17 years in prison by the Daejeon High Court last Wednesday and filed an appeal to the appellate court on Tuesday.

Jeong, who refers to himself as the Messiah or the second coming of Jesus, was released in 2018 after serving 10 years in prison for raping a number of female followers and embezzling funds from JMS.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG, YONHAP [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]