SITE TOP（Japanese） ＞ TOP（English）
The Mordecai Group aims to communicate the evidence pertaining to and truth concerning the Byun Jae Chang incidents, and to provide support in the court process which seeks relief and restitution for damages inflicted by the Little Shepherd Training Association (in Japanese, Shobokusha Kunrenkai, a.k.a. the International Gospel Christ Church)
※ 성명문 한국어 （声明文 韓国語） PDF（Korean）
※ Statement （声明文 英語） PDF（English）
June 20, 2016
Koichi Kato, Director
The Mordecai Group
A support group formed to seek relief and restitution for damages
inflicted by the Little Shepherd Training Association (Shobokusha Kunrenkai)
The Third Petty Bench of the Supreme Court (hereinafter “the Court”), Judge Takehiko Otani presiding, rendered its judgment on June 14, 2016 to dismiss each of the appeals in the three civil trials with regard to sexual harassment, defamation, and power harassment. The decision renders as final and binding the first trial judgment by the Tokyo District Court.
Significance of the Supreme Court decision and the first trial judgment
It is significant that the Court affirmed the complaints of the four plaintiffs, who had claimed to be victims of repeated illegal acts of sexual harassment, committed and continued over an extended period of time by defendant Jae Chang BYUN (hereinafter “BYUN”), Senior Pastor of International Gospel Christ Church (IGCC) and Director of the religious corporation Little Shepherd Training Association (LSTA). The Court has rendered as final and binding the first trial judgment, which ordered BYUN and the LSTA to pay compensatory damages.
Based on a number of objective evidences, the first trial court ruled that allegations of sexual harassment by BYUN were in fact illegal acts and violations of the sexual freedom and personal rights of the plaintiffs. The first trial judgment stated that “BYUN practiced authoritarian leadership in the LSTA. BYUN exploited his position as Senior Pastor in an environment in which church members were obligated to be absolutely obedient to him. Under the pretense of teaching the Bible, BYUN committed numerous acts of sexual harassment. . . The court deems BYUN’s acts as extremely contemptible.” The judgment also pointed out that “In the LSTA, if a spiritual leader has committed an error or a sin, the members must not discuss it with anyone else, but must go directly to the leader to ask him to repent. In such an environment, the court deems it not entirely unnatural that the plaintiffs were unable to openly claim they were being subjected to sexual harassment.” Thus the first trial court identified the authoritarian nature of the church’s structure as a system that allowed such incidents to occur.
The court clearly faulted the culture of the church as a significant contributing factor.
The first trial judgment described the common nature of the psychological condition the plaintiffs were in while they were being subjected to acts of sexual harassment, to wit: “Even though the plaintiffs were half in doubt about BYUN's teachings and were psychologically repulsed by BYUN's acts of sexual harassment, they still tried to be obedient to their spiritual leader in accordance with the teachings of God. The court observes that the plaintiffs felt they had no choice but to be subject to sexual harassment, by rationalizing, or trying to rationalize, BYUN’s acts.… The plaintiffs were misled to believe that what were in fact sexually motivated acts were legitimate, and thus were led to believe that they had no choice but to be subject to BYUN's sexual harassment. In this regard, it may be said that the plaintiffs experienced a form of mind control, which rendered them vulnerable to sexual harassment,” the court concludes.
The first trial judgment also noted perpetrator BYUN's proclivities in its observation that “BYUN tended to engage in unusually close physical contact with female church members,” in which regular physical contact (kissing on the lips, and hugging, etc.) went beyond the limits of what is commonly permissible in society.
Note: The double quotation marks indicate quotes from the first trial judgment.
Acknowledgement to supporters
More than eight years have passed since the incidents were made public, and seven long years since the civil case was filed. We express our profound appreciation to supporters and pastors from many denominations. They kept standing by the women in their vulnerable condition, who often felt alone. Our thanks also go to the lawyers who tenaciously defended the rights of the plaintiffs in court.
None of the plaintiffs in the civil case quit halfway. Everyone fought through the prolonged process of trials. This was made possible by all the encouragement and prayers offered by so many people. We will never forget the many precious donations given in large amounts, so that the plaintiffs, who were at an economic disadvantage, would have sufficient funds for the lawsuit. We want to take this opportunity to express once again our gratitude to all of our innumerable supporters. We sincerely thank each one.
Differences between the civil case and the criminal case
The LSTA argued to the effect that because the criminal trial (to which one of the plaintiffs in the first civil trial was party) acquitted BYUN, that verdict rendered the entire judgment of the civil trial unjustified. Such an argument, however, requires a leap in logic and is totally unwarranted. The criminal trial acquitted BYUN because there was a possibility that Defendant Byun had an alibi. In other words, the court applied the principle of innocent until proven guilty. In addition, the criminal trial deliberations involved one specific adultery charge which was alleged to have taken place on a specific date and at a specific time. On the other hand, the four victims in the civil trial brought up a total of 70 sexual harassment incidents (the actual number included in the complaint) that were outside the scope of the criminal trial. （For more details, read Counterstatement No.4 http://www.mordecai.jp/comment20150912_en.html#pr04）
Disappointing tactics
BYUN and the LSTA continually engaged in contemptible court tactics. During the appeals court trial, they submitted highly dubious pieces of evidence with the intent of injuring the credibility of the statement of a plaintiff from the first trial. They also argued during the Supreme Court trial for the falsity of the charges, based on the same doubtful pieces of evidence.
The LSTA recently launched a totally false and deceptive campaign called “Pastor Byun is innocent and not guilty.” Moreover, upon reception of the final Supreme Court decision, the LSTA published on its website “Statement of the LSTA lawyers upon the Supreme Court decision to dismiss the appeals.” In the statement, they argue for innocence, again by completely ignoring the differences between the criminal trial for the alleged incapacitated rape, and the civil trials. We are deeply disappointed that the LSTA is openly criticizing the final court decision in the civil trials.
Appeals to IGCC
Even now, after the loss has been finalized in the sexual harassment trial, BYUN remains Senior Pastor of IGCC, preaching at the Sunday worship services. This is quite beyond our comprehension. We urge IGCC to take seriously the Supreme Court decision which finalized the first trial judgment, to frankly acknowledge the facts, to make an official apology, and to dismiss BYUN in order to make a fresh start as a church. If IGCC is able to exercise its self-policing function and fulfill its responsibility within the Christian community, we believe it can help bring healing to the hearts of the plaintiffs who for so long suffered sexual harassment, as well as healing to their families.
We call on the ministers who have been with IGCC. Now is the time for them to voice their thoughts, and as responsible persons to make clear where they stand.
Significance of the sexual harassment trials in today's society
A Christian church can be an insular community, isolated from society in general. Pastoral authority is often strongly emphasized. In such a context, when women fall victim, against their will, to sexual harassment by their pastor or minister, they are rendered completely powerless to retain their personal right to sexual self-determination.
We have seen unlawful acts similar to those presented in this trial that have been committed by pastors and ministers in a few other Christian churches in Japan. The victims in such incidents often withdraw, suffer from loneliness, and face unjust victimization, causing them to keep silent. Some victims even have been driven to take their own lives. We deeply regret such happenings.
We must note here that the Church is not a sanctuary outside the bounds of the law. As shown by the outcome of this civil trial, if a pastor commits an illegal act, he or she shall certainly be brought to justice. In the meantime, victims can receive legal remedy by telling the truth, thereby restoring their honor. If anyone reading this has fallen victim to illegal acts by a pastoral leader, here is our message: “Never give up. Don't just accept what happened. By all means, choose to live.”
Defamation trial
We find quite reasonable and appropriate the Supreme Court decision, which renders as final and binding the first trial judgment and dismisses the appeal of BYUN and the LSTA in which they unsuccessfully argued that: “…In the sexual harassment and power harassment trials, the claims of the first trial plaintiffs that they had experienced damage were false, and that by publicly making these claims they had defamed the character of Byun and the LSTA.”
Power harassment trial
In regards to the power harassment trial, we are deeply disappointed with the Supreme Court decision, which renders as final and binding the first trial judgment that the claims of the plaintiff were considered to be without grounds and dismissed. Even though the same authoritarian system was at work both in the power harassment and the sexual harassment, the court failed to acknowledge illegal acts of power harassment by BYUN and the LSTA. The court also failed to acknowledge the causal association between the defendants’ acts and the plaintiff’s mental illness. We believe that the failure to acknowledge those associations by the Court are distinctly against social justice.
Our challenges and hopes for the future
We hope the Supreme Court decision will set a precedent among churches in Japan, in which we see similarly tragic incidents in some churches as a result of putting too much emphasis on pastoral authority. We pray that help will be offered to victims in other cases, so their human rights will be restored. We hope our case will serve as a wake-up call.
Finally, we call out to those who remain at IGCC and could be victims of similar harassment, yet are unable to recognize the damage they have experienced. We appeal to them to take the Supreme Court decision seriously and to make a fresh start immediately.
・クリスチャントゥデイのサイトで会見の内容の記事が配信されています。
⇒ ビュン牧師セクハラ訴訟、支援者・被害女性らが記者会見
「先例となる意義ある判決」
・クリスチャン新聞(Web)で会見の内容の記事が配信されています。
⇒ 卞（ビュン）牧師裁判最高裁上告棄却 一審判決確定へ
・キリスト新聞(Web)で会見の内容の記事が配信されています。
⇒ 発覚から８年 牧師にも法の裁き
最高裁 国際福音キリスト教会 卞在昌氏のセクハラ認定変えず
The Third Petty Bench of the Supreme Court, Judge Takehiko Otani presiding, rendered its judgment on June 14, 2016 to dismiss each of the appeals in the sexual harassment, defamation, and power harassment trials.
Gist of finalized conclusions:
１. Sexual harassment trial (First Action):
BYUN and the Little Shepherd Training Association (LSTA) lose.
Four plaintiffs of the First Trial win.
Four female plaintiffs, former members of the International Gospel Christ Church (IGCC), in a lawsuit filed against Jae Chang BYUN, Senior Pastor of IGCC and Director of the religious corporation LSTA, had claimed sexual harassment by BYUN and sought compensation for injuries. The Supreme Court decision renders as final and binding the first trial judgment by the Tokyo District Court, which affirmed the complaints of the plaintiffs regarding unlawful sexual harassment by BYUN and ordered BYUN and LSTA to pay compensatory damages in a total amount of 15.4 million yen.
２. Defamation trial (Third Action):
BYUN and LSTA lose.
Five plaintiffs and four supporters of the First Trial win.
BYUN and LSTA, in a lawsuit filed against nine persons (five plaintiffs of the first trial and four trial supporters), for claims of defamation caused by allegations made by the first trial plaintiffs, sought, among other things, compensation of 100 million yen and publication of an apology. The Supreme Court decision renders as final and binding the first trial judgment by the Tokyo District Court, which dismissed the appeals by BYUN and LSTA.
３. Power harassment trial (Second Action):
Male plaintiff of the First Trial loses.
A male plaintiff, a former member of IGCC, in a lawsuit filed against BYUN and LSTA for claims of power harassment, sought compensation for injuries. The Supreme Court decision renders as final and binding the first trial judgment by the Tokyo District Court, which dismissed the appeals by the plaintiff.
September 12, 2015
Koichi Kato, Director, The Mordecai Group
The International Gospel Christ Church (“IGCC,” one of the defendants of the first trial, also known as The Little Shepherd Training Association (“LSTA”), has published a document titled “Thoughts on the Appeals Court Judgment: Rev. Byun Is Innocent!!” (“the IGCC Document”)* In the IGCC Document, the lawyers serving as the defending counsel argue, among other things, that both of the original trial and the appeals court judgments are in error, and that “Rev. Byun is innocent.” They base their arguments, however, uncritically on the statements made by Byun and the LSTA, the very ones that were dismissed as without reason both in the first and second trials. In this regard, we deem the IGCC Document which argues Byun's innocence of no value.
Hereinafter, we would like to take up each of the ten arguments contained in the IGCC Document one by one from first to last to make a case against each one and to present the arguments for our case.
-> Click here to view the entire counterstatement in PDF.
* In this IGCC Document, the names of the first trial plaintiffs are indicated with each person's first and last name initials. This increases the danger of the plaintiffs being identified by a third party. This also violates one of the rules set by the court, which provides that “the parties shall not disclose to any third party any names of the plaintiffs of the trial (the appellees) or any information that can lead to the identification of any of the plaintiffs.” Therefore, in our counterstatement, the IGCC Document is quoted with all the personal initials concealed.
-> Click here to view the IGCC Document written in Japanese with all the personal initials concealed.
Counterstatement:
第１審被告ビュンと被告教団は、セクハラ裁判（第１事件）および名誉毀損裁判（第３事件）の控訴審判決を不服として、最高裁へ上告しました。一方、パワハラ裁判（第２事件）第１審原告も、控訴審判決を不服とし、法的救済を求めて同じく最高裁へ上告しました。
「刑事裁判」では、被告人ビュン無罪の判決だったけれど、なぜ「民事裁判」では、逆に、セクハラ被害を受けた女性たちが勝ったの？どうして何回も裁判するの？
― このような、みなさまから頂いた裁判に関するさまざまな疑問にお答えするため、セクハラ事件（第１事件）に関連したＱ＆Ａを作りました。エステルの質問にモルデカイが答える形です。 （PDFはこちら）
モルデカイの会で、民事裁判第２審判決要旨を作成しました。
控訴審判決は、第１事件、第２事件、第３事件のいずれについても、
原判決（第１審判決）を支持しているので、基本的には原判決の判決理由をそのまま引用している。
控訴審において原判決の判決理由を変更した主要部分（東京高裁の判断）をまとめて要旨とした。
●クリスチャントゥデイ
●キリスト新聞
●クリスチャン新聞WEB版
※判決の主文は、こちら(PDF)
※裁判の内容は、こちらの表(PDF)を参照ください
※ 성명문 한국어 （声明文 韓国語） PDF（Korean）
※ Statement （声明文 英語） PDF（English）
2015年7月29日
モルデカイの会 （宗教法人『小牧者訓練会』
による被害の回復を目的とする裁判の支援会）
代表 加藤光一
2015年7月29日、東京高裁・第１民事部（石井忠雄裁判長）は、小牧者訓練会代表・卞在昌（ビュン・ジェーチャン）（以下、「ビュン」という）の関わる、第１事件（セクハラ裁判）、第２事件（パワハラ裁判）および第３事件（名誉毀損裁判）について、いずれも第１審判決を維持したうえで、「控訴棄却」の判決を言渡しました。
【セクハラ裁判】
直接証拠に乏しいセクハラ裁判において、第１審に続いて第２審（控訴審）においても、第1審原告４名が長期間にわたり反復継続して第１審被告ビュンから不法行為（セクハラ（猥褻）行為）を受けてきた被害が認容され、ビュン個人と教団に賠償責任が認められた点で、私たちは今回の判決をきわめて高く評価しています。今回の控訴審判決は、第１審判決よりもさらに踏み込んだ形でビュンの不法行為の悪質性を指摘し、「第１審被告ビュンの行為は原告らの性的自由および人格権を侵害した違法な行為」とあらためて認容しています。また、多くの客観的証拠をもとに、ビュンを中心として権威主義的な運営がなされている教団において、ビュンがその地位を悪用して第1審原告らにセクハラ行為を繰り返したことがあらためて認容されたうえ、第1審に続いてビュン個人のみならず教団にも賠償責任が課せられたことは、組織としての教団の在り方が弾劾されたことをも意味しています。
このように、今回の判決が、第1審判決と同じく、教団およびビュン個人による特異な権威主義的教会運営が事件発生のメカニズムであるとし、それを許した教団の風土を明確に弾劾した点を、私たちは大いに評価しています。加えて、加害者であるビュンの性癖について「被告ビュンと女性信徒らとの距離が不自然なまでに近かったことがうかがいしれる」とし、ビュンの女性信徒らとの日常的な身体的接触（口へのキスやハグなど）は一般社会の許容範囲を超えていると指摘した第1審判決が認容されています。
何よりも、今回の判決において、ビュンの不法行為（セクハラ行為）が改めて認められたことにより、第１審原告らの人権が守られたことを、私たちは率直に喜んでいます。この事件によって受けた原告らの心の傷も癒されると信じています。
【パワハラ裁判】
パワハラ裁判については、第１審原告の請求には理由がないとしてその訴えが棄却されたことは大変残念に思っております。これについては判決内容を精査し、今後、上告するか否かを検討する所存です。
【名誉毀損裁判】
「セクハラ裁判およびパワハラ裁判における第1審原告らの被害主張はすべて虚偽でありこれらの公開等によって名誉を毀損された」との、ビュンおよび教団の請求には理由がないとして控訴を棄却した今回の判決は妥当なものだと、私たちは考えています。
一連の民事裁判が提起されてから、すでに６年が経過しています。ビュンのみならず教団は、今回の控訴審判決でセクハラ裁判（第１事件）および名誉毀損裁判（第３事件）のいずれにおいても敗訴したことを真摯に受け止め、自らの非を認めてすみやかに謝罪し、贖罪責任を果たしていただきたい。そのことこそが、セクハラ被害を受けて長い間苦しんで来た被害者やご家族の方々の心の癒しと権利の回復につながるものであります。
私たちは、法廷の場で真摯に原告らの人権を粘り強く擁護してこられた弁護士の諸先生方、祈りと献金によって長期間にわたって一連の裁判を支えてこられた支援者ならびに超教派の牧師の方々に深甚の謝意を表します。
今回の判決が先例となって、牧師の権威を強調するあまり同じような悲劇を招いている日本の一部のキリスト教会における同種事件の被害者が広く救済され、その人権が回復されるよう、私たちは警鐘を鳴らし続けて参ります。
以上
※これまでの動きは、FOEのサイト、または「これまでのあゆみ」を参照ください。