Pastor Jun Kwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church, who was pointed to as the mastermind behind the violent rampage at the Seoul Western District Court and was indicted and detained before being released for reasons including hospital treatment and is now standing trial, on the 18th attended a rally at Gwanghwamun for the first time since being granted bail.
At about 3:30 p.m. that day, Jun took the stage at a rally hosted by the National Movement Headquarters to Set Korea Straight (Daegukbon) in front of the Dongwha Duty Free Shop in Jongno District, Seoul, and said, "The Republic of Korea has already collapsed," adding, "We have kept up the 20-year Gwanghwamun movement because we must not hand the country over to North Korea." With a march and other events scheduled, Jun's remarks reportedly ended in about three minutes.
It was the first time Jun appeared in person at a rally since being granted bail. Earlier, on the 12th, Jun had appeared by video at a weekend worship service at Gwanghwamun Square.
Earlier, on the 7th, the court granted Jun bail on conditions including a ban on contact with seven people related to the case, taking into account that he must receive periodic hospital treatment for a urological condition caused by diabetes and that his face is widely known, making it difficult for him to flee. The conditions did not include restrictions on attending rallies.
On the 17th, appearing for the second court hearing at the Western District Court, Jun told reporters that he was in a state where he could not even urinate on his own and protested, saying, "How can you lock up such a critical patient in a detention center for two and a half months?"
Jun was indicted and detained in February on charges of inciting supporters in the early morning of Jan. 19 last year to storm the Western District Court, smash fixtures, and assault police immediately after former President Yoon Suk-yeol was taken into custody. Prosecutors believe Jun incited the disturbance by telling Sarang Jeil Church congregants and Gwanghwamun rally participants that they should "punish anti-state forces under the people's right to resist."
Meanwhile, YouTuber Jeon Han-gil (legal name Jeon Yu-gwan), a former Korean history instructor, also attended the rally that day. A warrant for Jeon's arrest was sought on charges including defaming President Lee Jae-myung and Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok (defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection and violation of the Framework Act on Telecommunications), but it was rejected by the court on the 16th.