JMS teacher Jeong Myung-seok is sentenced to 17 years in prison.

[Anchor]
JMS President Chung Myung-seok, who was handed over to trial for sexually assaulting Goddesses, has been sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Chung has denied the allegations, saying the congregation was not brainwashed or irresistible, but the Supreme Court rejected all of Chung's appeals and confirmed the original ruling.

For more information, I'll connect you to a reporter.

Reporter Cha Jung-yoon, the second trial ruling against Jung has been finalized, right?

[Reporter]
Yes, the Supreme Court confirmed the original ruling this morning, which sentenced Jeong Myung-seok, the JMS religious leader, to 17 years in prison for sexual assault on Goddess Island.

In addition, it has been confirmed that a location-tracking electronic anklet will be attached for 15 years and an order to restrict employment in children and youth-related institutions and welfare facilities for the disabled for 10 years.

Chung calls himself a messiah for three years and eight months in 2018, and Hong Kong, Australian and South Korean national goddesses are also accused of sexually assaulting or molesting three people.

In the first trial, Jeong was sentenced to 23 years in prison, but in the second trial, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison, six years less, due to his ability to testify.

Jeong denied the charges, saying that believers were not brainwashed or unable to protest, and that he had been preaching continuously that he was a person, not a god, and appealed to the second trial.

Accordingly, the Supreme Court dismissed all of Jeong's appeals and confirmed the sentence, saying there was no mistake in misunderstanding the legal principles in the judgment of the lower court.

Earlier, the Supreme Court confirmed a seven-year prison term in October last year for Kim, the second-in-command of the denomination who served under the stage name Jeong Jo-eun and helped Chung commit sex crimes.

I'm Cha Jungyoon of YTN from the Ministry of Social Affairs.