JMS Christian Gospel Mission Church Pastor Jung Myung-Seok’s Appellate Tribunal Ruling Based on “Gender Sensitivity”
Original Article Here
Gender sensitivity has been an important issue in gender-related trials since the Supreme Court’s gender sensitivity ruling in 2018. Highlighting the specificity of these cases, crimes have been legitimized on the basis of the victim’s allegations, even in the absence of concrete evidence. Therefore, it is important to scrutinize the credibility of the accusers’ statements. The purpose is to recognize differences and achieve true equality.
On Janurary 4th, the Supreme Court’s ruling made a powerful statement on gender sensitivity in the sexual assault case against an autistic man. “Consideration of gender sensitivity does not mean that the testimony of a victim of a sexual offense must be recognized without limitations or that the claims of the indictment should be unconditionally judged guilty accordingly,” the Court ruled, indicating that gender sensitivity must be considered alongside the principle of the presumption of innocence.
The credibility of the accusers’ statements was also an important issue in the trial of Pastor Jung Myung-Seok of the Christian Gospel Mission (JMS). Accordingly, Pastor Jung’s defense lawyers demonstrated that there were many contradictions in the places and times where the complainants claimed to have been sexually assaulted.
For example, complainant M stated that Pastor Jung removed the car armrest and sat next to her. However, the objective evidence presented to the Court showed that the vehicle they were traveling in was equipped with a fixed armrest, making it impossible for a person to sit in the middle.
Furthermore, when a witness who was also a passenger in the vehicle testified that he kept watching Pastor Jung through the rear-view mirror but did not see such an incident happen, Ms. M’s statement was not credible as she was cross-examined further to the effect that the witness could not see in the rear-view mirror because Pastor Jung was sitting in the middle and blocking his view.
“In this case, objective evidence proved that the complainant’s statements were not credible, but the Appeals Court ignored this and ruled on the basis of gender sensitivity,” said a member of the Christian Gospel Mission (CGM).
Article 307 of the Code of Criminal Procedure states that “the admission of a criminal offense must be proven beyond reasonable doubt.” This means that only evidence that does not leave a reasonable doubt should be accepted.
However, gender sensitivity should be examined more closely because it can lead to violations beyond the principles of presumption of innocence and evidentiary justice. In light of this, experts agree that the trial of Pastor Jung is controversial because it did not observe the principle of presumption of innocence and trial by evidence but instead was based on gender sensitivity.
Hong Seong-Pil, Reporter
