Court orders cult leader to compensate sexual assault victims

A court on Thursday ordered Jeong Myeong-seok and his cult — the Christian Gospel Mission, also known as Jesus Morning Star (JMS) — to pay hundreds of millions of won in damages to three of his victims of sexual assault.

The Daejeon District Court ruled that Jeong and JMS must jointly pay 250 million won ($187,000) plus interest to Maple Yip, a Hong Kong national; 80 million won plus interest to an Australian national known only as Amy; and 40 million won plus interest to an unnamed Korean woman.

It also ordered Kim Ji-seon, another defendant and the second most important member of the group after Jeong, to pay 30 million won plus interest to Yip.

Yip claimed that Jeong sexually assaulted or molested her on multiple occasions at a communal living facility in Geumsan County, South Chungcheong, between February 2018 and September 2021. The other two victims also accused him of sexual molestation.

In January 2025, the Supreme Court upheld an appellate court’s 17-year prison sentence for Jeong, which he is currently serving out in a prison in Daejeon.

He previously served 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting or molesting four followers between August 2001 and April 2006 at locations including a resort in Malaysia, an apartment in Hong Kong and accommodations in Anshan, China. He was released in February 2018.

Kim, seen as Jeong’s likely successor, was indicted while in custody on charges of aiding him in committing quasi rape in March and April 2018. Under Korea’s Criminal Act, quasi rape refers to engaging in sexual intercourse or committing an indecent act with someone unconscious or otherwise incapable of consenting or resisting.

A lower court sentenced her to seven years in prison, and she remains incarcerated.

Yip, Amy and the Korean victim filed their damages suit in 2024. Yip sought 500 million won, Amy 150 million won and the Korean woman about 100 million won.

“Jeong’s sexual offenses were aided by an organized effort involving the religious group and its senior officials, who abetted his unlawful conduct,” an attorney representing the victims said at the time. “For the damages, we also factored in the serious secondary harm that the victims suffered during the investigation.”