Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon of the Korea Christian Federation, who is accused of violating the Public Official Election Act, is entering the courtroom to attend the warrant hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 24th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] It was confirmed on the 26th that Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon, the general representative of the "Moon Jae-in Resignation National Struggle Headquarters" (Beomtubon), filed a request for a detention review. A detention review is a procedure in which the suspect asks the court to reconsider whether their detention is justified.
An official from the Seoul Central District Court stated that Pastor Jeon, who was detained on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, filed the detention review request the day before. The detention review for Pastor Jeon has been assigned to the 5-2 Criminal Appeals Division (Presiding Judges Yoo Seok-dong, Lee Gwan-hyung, and Choi Byung-ryul), and the hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. on the 27th.
Pastor Jeon was detained on the 24th on charges of urging support for a specific political party at rallies in Gwanghwamun ahead of the April general elections. At that time, the court stated, "There is evidence of pre-election campaigning targeting a large audience, and severe punishment is expected, raising concerns about flight risk."
Prior to his detention, Pastor Jeon completed the suspect interrogation (warrant review) and told reporters, "I must hold the March 1st rally." A Beomtubon official also said, "We will hold the March 1st rally as Pastor Jeon intends." If Pastor Jeon is released through the detention review, it is expected that he will participate in the March 1st rally.
However, the likelihood of Pastor Jeon being released through this detention review appears low. According to recent judicial yearbook statistics, in 2018, 2,109 suspects requested a re-examination claiming their arrest or detention was unjust, but only 258 were released. This corresponds to about 12%, meaning only about one in ten suspects were released through detention reviews.
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