Right-wing firebrand pastor faces backlash from Korean Christians after courthouse riot

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Right-wing firebrand pastor faces backlash from Korean Christians after courthouse riot

Conservative protesters watch a YouTube clip of right-wing pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon during their rally near President Yoon Suk Yeol's residence in Yongsan District in central Seoul on Jan. 13. [LEE CHAN-KYU]

Conservative protesters watch a YouTube clip of right-wing pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon during their rally near President Yoon Suk Yeol's residence in Yongsan District in central Seoul on Jan. 13. [LEE CHAN-KYU]

Right-wing pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon faced backlash from Korean Protestant communities after he claimed people “could free impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol from jail through public resistance” during a rally on Sunday.  
 
According to a report from the DongA Ilbo, a Presbyterian church association said in a statement Sunday that Jeon had “shamed the Korean Christian community.” It claimed that Jeon had incited political protesters based on "fake news" and ordered them to storm the Seoul Western District Court after issuing a warrant against Yoon. 
 
In the statement, the group accused Jeon of being a “central figure in propagating and agitating for an insurrection to bring down democracy and the rule of law."

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Specifically, the group said that Jeon "elaborated upon his nonsense with expressions such as ‘Public resistance stands above the Constitution’ and ‘People can bring Yoon out of the detention center through public resistance.’”
 
While asking Jeon to repent, the Presbyterian group asked Jeon to take responsibility for orchestrating the courthouse riot and interfering with the judiciary.
 
Another Christian group, named Protest 2002, issued a statement calling for Jeon to be expelled from the Korean religious community for instigating the Seoul Western District Court violence.
 
“Jeon instigated the violence among pro-Yoon protesters through his groundless remarks, and his actions are anti-religious and cannot be tolerated within Christian belief which pursues peace and justice,” Protest 2002 wrote. The group called on Korean churches to criticize violence based on the principle of peace and justice to prevent the recurrence of such behavior.
 
On Saturday afternoon, a group of demonstrators from a group founded by Jeon amassed in front of the courthouse as a decision on issuing the warrant against Yoon was imminent, according to Yonhap News Agency. Jeon is a pastor at Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk District, northern Seoul. 

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]
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