Leader of Jesus Morning Star sect receives 33-year prison term for sexual assaults
An 81-year-old head of the Jesus Morning Star religious group was sentenced by the Daejeon District Court to 33 years in prison for repeatedly assaulting female followers.
The Daejeon District Court sentenced 81-year-old Jeong Myeong-seok, head of the Jesus Morning Star sect, to 33 years in prison for sexually assaulting 16 female members from 2018 to 2022, after he allegedly brain-washed them into seeing him as a messianic figure. The court emphasized the repeated, systematic nature of the abuse and the exploitation of the sect’s hierarchical structure, calling the punishment inevitable.
Beyond the lengthy term, Jeong will be required to wear an electronic tracking bracelet for 15 years and is prohibited from working in facilities serving children, adolescents, or disabled individuals for ten years. He is already serving a 17-year sentence imposed in January 2025 for assaults on a Hong Kong national and harassment of Australian and South Korean followers. Previously, he completed a ten-year term for overseas assaults committed between 2001 and 2006, and was released in February 2018.
Why it matters
The case highlights how religious authority can be abused to facilitate sexual crimes and underscores legal efforts to protect vulnerable followers.
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