Jeon Kwanghoon Arrested as Mastermind Behind Western District Court Riot: "Concerns Over Evidence Destruction and Flight"

Pastor Jeon Kwanghoon of Sarang Jeil Church, who is accused of orchestrating violent disturbances from behind the scenes, was arrested nearly a year after the incident at the Seoul Western District Court.

Yonhap News Agency

On January 13, Kim Hyungseok, the chief judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Western District Court, issued an arrest warrant for Pastor Jeon, who is charged with inciting special trespassing of a building, stating, "There is a concern that evidence may be destroyed and that he may flee."

Pastor Jeon is accused of encouraging supporters to break into the Western District Court, destroy property, and assault police officers in the early morning of January 19 last year, immediately after the arrest of former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The police believe that Pastor Jeon used religious faith as a means of psychological manipulation (gaslighting) and provided funds to his close associates and conservative YouTubers to incite violence among the protesters. A total of 141 people, including two "special evangelists" from Sarang Jeil Church, have been brought to trial on charges of participating in the disturbance.

During the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant review), the police argued that Pastor Jeon might flee either to "Freedom Villages," the regional organizations he established, or abroad, emphasizing the necessity of his detention.

They also highlighted a significant risk of evidence destruction, citing the replacement of office PCs within the church just before a search and seizure in July last year.

Before appearing for the warrant review at around 9:50 a.m. on this day, Pastor Jeon held a press conference and claimed, "Now that a left-wing president has taken office, they are having a fit trying to arrest me."

This is the fourth time Pastor Jeon has been arrested. During the 19th presidential election in 2018, he was sentenced to 10 months in prison at the first trial for violating the Public Official Election Act and was taken into custody. However, at the second and third trials, his sentence was reduced to six months in prison with a two-year suspended sentence.

After his release, he was arrested again on charges of election law violations ahead of the 21st general election on February 2020, but was released on medical bail. In September of the same year, he was re-detained for violating bail conditions but was released after being acquitted.

In January 2020, during the Moon Jae-in administration, he also faced the risk of arrest for leading a violent protest in front of the Blue House, but the court dismissed the warrant.