Jeon Kwang-hoon, the pastor of Sarang Jeil Church, who was indicted and detained as a suspected instigator behind the violent riot at the Seoul Western District Court but later released on bail for medical treatment and is currently standing trial, attended another rally at Gwanghwamun on the 25th.
At around 1:40 PM that day, Jeon took the stage at a rally organized by the National Movement for the Establishment of a Proper Republic of Korea (Daegukbon) in front of Donghwa Duty Free Shop in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Regarding the rioters at the Western District Court, he denied the allegations again, saying, “I don’t even know those people.”
He added, “I was detained three times at Seoul Detention Center, and I was found 100% not guilty, receiving 60 million won in compensation from the Ministry of Justice,” and claimed, “In this trial as well, I will undoubtedly receive about 30 million won in compensation.”
Jeon also made remarks such as:
“Without me, Gwanghwamun cannot exist,”
“The Constitution of the Republic of Korea mandates peaceful reunification under a liberal democratic order. The people are so stupid that no matter how many times I shout this, they don’t understand,”
“Do you want to be taken to North Korea?”
Earlier, on the 7th, the court granted Jeon bail, considering that he requires regular hospital treatment for a urological condition caused by diabetes and that, being widely recognized, he is unlikely to flee. Conditions of bail included a ban on contacting seven individuals related to the case. Since the court did not impose restrictions on attending rallies, Jeon appeared at a rally for the first time after his release on the 18th.
Posted by Freewhale98
1 Comment
1. Summary
Jeon Kwang-Hoon, far-right evangelical pastors claimed Koreans are too stupid to understand his speech in reference to the decline of the far-right in Korea.
2. How is this related to the sub
(1) Online Echo Chamber: The language and terminology used by Korean far-right became so detached from wider Korean electorate that Koreans cannot understand their speech.
3. My opinion
The elitist nature of Korean conservative circle became amplified to maximum extent in Korean far-right. They are using MAGA terminology that is unfamiliar to Koreans instead of conventional language of Korean politics. This led to Korean voters just confused about what these people are saying and not consider them sane. As alienation among wider public intensified, Far-right activists are convinced that they are genius among idiots and spiral deeper into MAGA ideology. This led to collapse of support for right-wing and PPP as Korean voter view them as snobby out-of-touch elites.
Korean far-right somehow fell into the trap of elitism and purity test similar to that of US democrats.