22-10-2024 (MANILA) The Supreme Court of the Philippines has affirmed the life imprisonment sentence of South Korean pastor Si Young Oh, also known as Steve Oh, for qualified trafficking involving the exploitation of minors. The ruling, issued by the court’s 3rd Division, found Oh guilty of violating Republic Act No. 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.
The case, which has sent shockwaves through both religious and legal communities, centres on Oh’s activities after his arrival in the Philippines in 2008. Court records reveal that Oh, originally affiliated with the Korean Christian Presbyterian General Assembly in Seoul, established a theology school in Pampanga without the requisite government permits.
Under the guise of offering free theological education and missionary training, Oh recruited three minors with promises of becoming pastors or missionaries. However, the court found that he subsequently subjected them to forced labour on church construction projects, providing little to no compensation for their work.
The pastor’s arrest in 2013 came as a result of a joint operation between the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the National Bureau of Investigation, which also led to the rescue of the exploited minors.
Throughout the legal proceedings, Oh maintained that the minors’ participation in construction work was voluntary and part of their religious training. This defence, however, was rejected at every level of the judiciary, from the Angeles City Regional Trial Court’s initial conviction in 2017 to the Court of Appeals’ affirmation in 2021.
In its decision, penned by Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan, the Supreme Court emphasised that the elements of trafficking were unequivocally present in Oh’s case. The court highlighted a crucial aspect of the law, stating, “Section 3(a) of Republic Act No. 9208 provides that the crime subject of this case is punishable ‘with or without the victim’s consent or knowledge,’ and that the means employed by the accused is irrelevant when the victims are minors.”
In addition to the life sentence, Oh has been ordered to pay a fine of 2 million pesos (approximately $34,600) and 1.8 million pesos (about $31,100) in damages to the victims.
The Supreme Court’s ruling included a powerful statement on the gravity of human trafficking, particularly when perpetrated against minors: “As in many cases, human trafficking is most deplorable when committed against minors as it robs them of their dreams and aspirations. And because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, the court will never shirk on its moral and legal duty to uphold justice for the victims of this detestable crime.”
