Jung Myung-seok (정명석), leader of the Korean religious cult Jesus Morning Star (JMS), also known as Christian Gospel Mission (CGM), has been sentenced to 17 years in prison by South Korea’s Supreme Court. He was convicted of rape and indecent assault. Jung, 79, will also wear an electronic ankle monitor for 15 years and is barred from working in facilities related to children, teenagers, and people with disabilities for the next decade.

Following the verdict on the 9th, Hong Kong victim Maple Yip (叶萱) said in a press conference, "I’m glad it’s finally over."

Heretical Doctrine on Salvation and the Trinity

Despite presenting itself as a church and preaching in Jesus’ name, JMS is recognized by Korean Christian authorities as a heretical cult. Its teachings on salvation, the Trinity, resurrection, and the second coming of Christ are considered doctrinally corrupt. Members venerate Jung as a messianic figure.

Between February 2018 and September 2021, Jung was charged with sexually assaulting or molesting 21 female followers. Among them was a Hong Kong woman who suffered 23 instances of sexual violence at a retreat center in Geumsan, South Chungcheong Province. Other victims included women from Australia and South Korea. Jung’s initial 2023 trial sentenced him to 23 years, but the sentence was reduced to 17 years in an October appellate court. Judges recognized that psychological control over victims impaired their ability to resist, upholding the charges of rape and indecent assault.

Jung’s history of sexual misconduct spans decades. He first gained media attention for scandalous behavior in 1984, and a follower accused him of sexual assault in 1987. After fleeing overseas to evade arrest, he was apprehended in Hong Kong in 2003 but escaped while on bail. He remained in hiding at a private villa in Liaoning, China, until his 2007 capture in Beijing. In 2009, he was imprisoned for 10 years on rape charges. Upon his release in 2018, he resumed manipulating female adherents under the guise of divine authority.

Masquerading as a Messiah

According to Modern Religion, a monthly journal on cult studies, Jung was born in 1945. He briefly attended a Christian church but failed to integrate into traditional church life. He later joined the Unification Church, another controversial sect. Jung began proselytizing in Seoul in 1978 and founded the Providence Church in 1982, later rebranding it as Christian Gospel Mission in 1999. 

Jung reportedly assaulted more than 100 female followers. Using his status as the cult’s leader, he convinced members that he was a messiah sent by God. He manipulated women into undergoing “love education” or “body checks” that led to abusive sexual encounters. Jung committed his crimes in the name of God, teaching a distorted concept of love. 

According to former members, female followers were indoctrinated to believe that “even if the sexual acts are repugnant, it is the messiah doing them,” leading them to accept the abuse as an expression of “love.” Women were also taught that after becoming a “bride,” even thinking about another man was a betrayal of God that would send them “straight to hell.” As a result, victims often felt unable to resist, fearing they would violate “God’s will” despite their pain and doubts.

Jung had a designated department in his church that would scout new victims for him. Church members collected personal data and nude photographs of female followers. The chosen girl would be arranged to meet Jung privately, where he used various pretexts to sexually assault them. The Netflix documentary In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal features testimony from victims and insiders. According to the film, senior female followers would “offer up” young women to Jung for his pervert practices, and then tell the victims they were lucky to become “brides”, telling them to “only love the Lord now.” 

The witness revealed that, once they get physical with Jung, the female followers will quickly be promoted to evangelist or pastor, then they too will become the middleman and start to offer new girls to the leader. Yip also testified in the documentary that these “informants” would keep tabs on tall and pretty girls, passionately evangelizing them to provide Jung with a never-ending supply chain of girls according to his tastes. A witness in the film described it as the process of how the “victims turn into the perpetrators.”

Yip’s Role in Jung’s Conviction

Jung Myung-seok’s years of criminal actions were brought to justice once again thanks to the courage of Maple Yip, a long-time victim of his sexual abuse. Yip bravely came forward to expose Jung’s crimes, participating in interviews with a South Korean film crew where she shared her painful experiences on camera. Her story was later featured in the Netflix documentary, drawing worldwide attention to his crimes.

Yip’s case garnered even greater public attention due to her relationship with Hong Kong entertainer Alex Fong. She was only 17 when she was recruited into JMS while shopping in the bustling Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong. At the time, she struggled with bullies, fighting parents, and deep personal distress, making her susceptible to the cult’s influence.

After joining, Yip quickly gained Jung’s “favor” and was assigned to serve him closely at one of the cult’s so-called “holy sites.” Within JMS, she worked as a translator for Chinese-speaking members, became a preacher and pastor, and rose to prominence as a star news anchor for the cult’s internal media network. She appeared in promotional videos under the Korean name “Jung Soo-jung,” representing the organization in various activities.

In the documentary, Yip broke down in tears as she gave a personal account of being sexually assaulted by Jung. Yip revered Jung as the "Messiah." Between 2018 and 2021, she was assaulted by him 17 times. After each attack, Jung would insist, "You are saved now."

Yip described her initial confusion after the assaults but admitted that under the cult's brainwashing, she convinced herself that she was receiving "God's love." Seeking justice, she followed the advice of her boyfriend Fong, and secretly recorded her conversations with Jung on her phone, capturing a critical 1-hour and 37-minute-long audio file.

In the Name of God includes a 34-second audio recording where Jung invoked God’s name while committing sexual assault. In the recording, Jung can be heard saying, “Hold me tight” and "you will love the Lord forever,” to which Yip responds, “Lord, I will love You forever.” The audio also contains graphic, disturbing sexual language and the sounds of the victim crying.

The recording served as key evidence during Jung’s initial trial. However, the appellate court later dismissed it, ruling that it was not the original audio file and therefore lacked verifiable integrity. As a result, Yip’s submitted recording was excluded as admissible evidence.

‘No More True Victims in the Future’

Following the final verdict, Yip appeared at a press conference with a bright smile. She shared her thoughts, saying: “To be honest, the wounds I’ve suffered and the hardships I’ve endured over the past 17 years cannot be undone. But I believe that from now on, there will be no more true victims.”

Reflecting on the long battle, she expressed relief that justice had finally prevailed: “Now it’s all over. I think I can start anew.” She also addressed other victims, saying, “I have completed my fight, and you can too. So I want to tell them to be strong and to rise up.”