Korean Court Reduces Cult Leader And Convicted Rapist Jung Myeong Seok’s Prison Sentence
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On Wednesday, October 2, a Korean appellate court reduced the prison sentence for Jeong Myeong Seok, the founder of the infamous Christian religious cult JMS (Jesus Morning Start, alternatively known as the Providence Church), who was convicted of sexual crimes.
In December 2023, the Daejeon District Court sentenced Jeong to prison for 23 years for sexually assaulting three foreign followers of the JMS church. Jeong abused and assaulted the three victims 23 times between February 2018 through September 2021. This marked his second prison sentence, as he was released in 2018 after serving ten years in prison for sexually abusing and assaulting four of his female followers numerous times from 2001 to 2006.
Jeong Myeong Seok appealed his second prison term, and the Daejeon High Court accepted his argument that the 23-year sentence was unfair due to factual errors and misapplication of the law. The court reduced his sentence by six years, turning it into a 17-year jail term instead.
Jeong Myeong Seok’s brutal crimes were exposed to the world through a chilling Netflix docuseries, In The Name Of God: A Holy Betrayal, where several of his victims came forward with testimonies of being sexually exploited and molested by the JMS founder. Jeong had declared that he was the “Messiah” and brainwashed members into believing everything he said.
He then used his power and position to lure tall and beautiful women into the cult to assault them sexually, which he often did under the guise of blessing or giving health checks. Throughout the 1980s and 90s, Jung Myeong Seok created a cycle where women would lure more women into the church. His crimes were first exposed in 1999, when he fled the country, but continued to assault women across China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan before being extradited to Korea to face his charges in 2008. He was welcomed by the JMS church upon his release and continued his heinous crimes with new female followers.
You can read more about Jeong Myeong Seok’s horrific crimes here.
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