THE Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed the life sentence of a South Korean pastor for trafficking minors who were forced to work in his church.
The decision, penned by Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan, upheld the lower court’s capital punishment on Si Young Un for qualified trafficking under Republic Act No. 9208.
Si, also known as Steve Oh, was affiliated with the Korean Christian Presbyterian General Assembly based in Seoul, South Korea, but moved to the Philippines in 2008.
He became the head of a theology school in Pampanga, but later admitted to operating the facility without government permits.
Records of the case showed that Si recruited three minors, all 17 years old, ostensibly to study theology and become pastors or missionaries, but forced them to work on the church’s construction projects for little or no pay.
A joint operation conducted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the National Bureau of Investigation led to the rescue of the minors and the arrest of Si.
The SC explained that trafficking occurs when individuals are recruited, transported, or transferred – regardless of consent or knowledge – under threats, coercion, deception, or abuse of power, for exploitative purposes such as prostitution, forced labor, slavery, or removal or sale of organs.
The crime is classified as qualified trafficking, which carries life sentence, when involving minors or three or more victims, the SC said.
The High Tribunal underscored that even if the three victims may have been driven by their religious beliefs to agree to do construction work, a minor’s consent, even without the use of coercive or deceptive means, is not given out of their own free will.
The Court also fined Si P2 million, plus P1.8 million compensation in moral and exemplary damages to the victims.
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