Prosecutors seek 27-year term for JMS leader in sex crime case involving 16 followers

Prosecutors on Monday sought a 27-year prison term for Jeong Myeong-seok, the 81-year-old leader of the religious group Christian Gospel Mission, commonly known as JMS, alleging he sexually assaulted 16 female followers about 80 times.

Jeong is already serving a 17-year prison sentence in a separate sex crime case involving three other female followers.

At the final hearing before the Daejeon District Court, prosecutors asked the court to convict Jeong on charges including quasi-rape, a charge involving sexual intercourse with a person unable to resist.

They also requested that he complete a sexual violence treatment program, have his personal information disclosed, and be barred for 10 years from working at institutions serving children, adolescents or people with disabilities.

Prosecutors further requested that Jeong wear an electronic monitoring device for 20 years and be placed under probation for five years.

“The charges are supported by the victims’ detailed and consistent accounts, corroborating witness testimony and other evidence,” a prosecutor said.

The prosecutor said Jeong used the personnel and resources available to him as the leader of a religious organization to indoctrinate young female followers.

Jeong was indicted on allegations that he sexually assaulted or molested 16 women about 80 times between 2018 and 2021, including at the Wolmyeongdong training center in Geumsan, South Chungcheong Province, which serves as the group’s headquarters.

Prosecutors allege that Jeong indoctrinated the women into believing he was the “Messiah,” leaving them psychologically unable to resist him.

He is also accused of threatening a victim in 2022 and forcing her to sign a pledge not to file a criminal complaint against him.

Jeong has denied all charges throughout the trial, arguing that he had no physical contact with the women and that they were not psychologically incapable of resisting him.

The defense’s closing arguments were heard behind closed doors to protect the alleged victims. The court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on Oct. 1.

In January 2025, the Supreme Court finalized a 17-year prison sentence against Jeong for raping a female follower from Hong Kong and sexually molesting two others from Australia and Korea.

Jeong had previously served 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting or raping four female followers between 2001 and 2006. He was released in February 2018, the same year the offenses alleged in the current case began.