Prosecutors demand 30-yr sentence for religious leader in appeal trial

Prosecutors on Friday demanded imprisonment of 30 years for Jeong Myeong-seok, the leader of a controversial religious organization, the Jesus Morning Star (JMS), in his appeal trial. The prosecution made such a demand during Jeong's trial held at the Daejeon High Court in the central city of Daejeon. In December last year, the Daejeon District Court sentenced Jeong to 23 years in prison after finding him guilty of sexual assault and molestation involving three victims. He then lodged an appeal against the sentence. In May, the prosecution additionally indicted Jeong on suspicion of committing sexual offenses against two other women and the relevant trial has been held separately from the appeal trial. Jeong, who refers to himself as the Messiah, or the second coming of Jesus, was released in 2018 after serving 10 years in prison for raping a number of female followers and embezzling funds from JMS. Source: Yonhap News Agency