Jeon Gwang-hoon Reincarcerated After 140 Days Due to Bail Revocation... Court Forfeits Bail Deposit (Comprehensive)

Following the court's decision to revoke bail on the 7th, Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church is set to be re-incarcerated. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the 7th, the court revoked the bail of Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church and ordered his re-incarceration. This comes 140 days after Pastor Jeon was released on bail on April 20.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 34 (Presiding Judge Heo Seon-ah) accepted the prosecution's request and revoked Pastor Jeon's bail on the same day. Additionally, 30 million won out of the 50 million won bail deposit posted by Pastor Jeon at the time of the previous bail decision was confiscated. The court stated, "The defendant has violated the conditions set by the court." The prosecution plans to execute the arrest warrant and detain Pastor Jeon in the detention center again during the morning.

Pastor Jeon was indicted on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act for pre-election campaigning at gatherings in Gwanghwamun Square ahead of the 21st general election, and for defamation against President Moon Jae-in. He was detained and indicted in March this year but was released on bail in April. At that time, the court imposed the condition that "the defendant must not participate in any gatherings or demonstrations that may be related to or illegal in connection with this case."

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 34 (Presiding Judge Heo Seon-ah) revoked the bail of Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church and ordered his re-incarceration on the 7th. Photo by Moon Ho-nam, Seoul Central District Court / munonam@

However, Pastor Jeon attended a gathering in Gwanghwamun on the 15th of last month and even gave a speech without wearing a mask. In response, the prosecution applied to revoke his bail on the 16th of last month, citing that Pastor Jeon violated bail conditions by attending the Gwanghwamun gathering. The decision on whether to revoke Pastor Jeon's bail was delayed as he tested positive for COVID-19 the day after the prosecution's application.

After completing COVID-19 treatment and being discharged, the prosecution submitted a written opinion to the court requesting an expedited hearing on the bail revocation. The intention was to decide quickly by determining the direction of the hearing. The court could have set a hearing date to decide on the bail revocation if it deemed direct questioning necessary. However, the court judged that a separate hearing was unnecessary and decided to revoke the bail based solely on the prosecution's application and the opinion submitted by Pastor Jeon's side.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.