Photo : KBS
Cult leader Jung Myung-seok will spend 17 years in prison for sexual assault and related offenses after an appellate court reduced his sentence.
The Daejeon High Court ruled Wednesday that Jung’s original 23-year sentence for preying on women in the religious group was excessive and out of line with sentencing norms.
Conceding to some of the arguments from Jung’s defense counsel, the high court said the lower court went beyond its judicial discretion in sentencing Jung and should have imposed no more than 19 years and three months.
Jung, the leader of the Christian Gospel Mission, also known as the Providence religious movement or JMS, was found guilty in 2023 of sexually and physically assaulting a woman from Hong Kong on 23 occasions and also of sexually assaulting an Australian woman and a South Korean woman.
The prosecution initially sought a 30-year sentence, saying Jung was a repeat offender who used his position to take advantage of his victims.