"The JMS sexual assault victims fabricated their stories"... YouTuber who produced smear videos about victims is finally sentenced

[Financial News] A former follower of Christian Gospel Mission (JMS) who became a YouTuber and produced and uploaded videos slandering victims who were sexually assaulted by JMS leader Jung Myung-seok has been given a suspended prison sentence.
According to the legal community on the 12th, Presiding Judge Jang Jin-young of the Daejeon District Court Criminal Division 10 sentenced a man identified only by the initial A, who was indicted on charges of defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, to one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years.
The court also ordered A to serve three years of probation and perform 200 hours of community service.
From April to June 2023, A was brought to trial on charges of producing and broadcasting videos on his YouTube channel claiming that the statements of victims who were sexually assaulted by Jung Myung-seok were false, and that the evidence they presented had been fabricated or manipulated.
At that time, A’s YouTube channel had about 200,000 subscribers, and he is known to have produced and uploaded 48 videos containing such claims.
A also reportedly asserted that Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) and Netflix had staged a fraud on a global audience by producing and airing the documentary "In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal" based on fabricated evidence.
The court stated, "The defendant produced YouTube videos that inflicted secondary victimization on the victims without properly verifying the facts, and even portrayed those who helped the victims in good faith as shameless wrongdoers, so his culpability is very grave," adding, "Given the falsehoods conveyed through provocative thumbnails and tone of speech in each video, a stern punishment is unavoidable."
However, the court went on to explain the reasons for sentencing, saying, "We took into account that he confessed to the crime and deleted all related videos, that he has shown a repentant attitude and has not repeated similar conduct, and that he has no prior criminal record in relation to this type of offense."
The court further emphasized, "We have imposed an obligation on him not to upload videos or other content that could amount to secondary harm against the victims on platforms such as social networking service (SNS) sites that can be viewed by many people," warning that "if he fails to comply, the suspended sentence will be revoked."

newssu@fnnews.com Kim Soo-yeon Reporter