Jeon Kwang-hoon Hurls Abuse at President Lee Over “Redevelopment Holdout” Criticism: “You Bad Son of an X”

President Lee: "You can't just hold out by force"
Case of obstruction of eviction enforcement during redevelopment of Jangwi Zone 10

Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church hurled profanities at President Lee Jae-myung after Lee called for strict enforcement of the law during redevelopment.

Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church. Yonhap News.

Appearing on a live broadcast on the YouTube channel Goseongguk TV on November 10, Pastor Jeon said the church had done nothing wrong by resisting eviction enforcement during the redevelopment of Zone 10 in Jangwi-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. Addressing Lee, he said, “This son of a bitch is saying they should get rid of Sarang Jeil Church. He’s a bad son of an X.”

Host Go laughed at Jeon’s remarks. Jeon also said, “Does the president have nothing better to do?” and “That guy (President Lee) should just travel abroad.”

When Go asked how Jeon would respond if the Seongbuk District Office took action related to the redevelopment, Jeon claimed, “They can’t. That’s because the entire redevelopment project is overseen by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.”

Earlier, on November 4, President Lee visited the redevelopment site in Jangwi-dong and received a briefing on the failed attempt to enforce an eviction order against Sarang Jeil Church. “There’s no such thing as being able to break the law and get away with it just by holding out,” he said. He told Seongbuk District Chief Lee Seung-ro, “From now on, the law must be enforced thoroughly. In a country governed by the rule of law, where can people simply resist by force?”

At a Cabinet meeting on November 10, President Lee also cited as an example of a strategic holdout the practice of using physical force to block eviction enforcement and holding out for a long time. He instructed Prime Minister Han Seong-sook to conduct a nationwide survey of cases in which physical force is used to obstruct lawful enforcement or illegal acts are continued, and to report the findings within two weeks.

Redevelopment in Zone 10 in Jangwi-dong has been delayed because Sarang Jeil Church demanded 56.3 billion won in compensation, more than six times the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s assessed value of 8.2 billion won. The church lost at all three levels of court in the eviction lawsuit, but thwarted enforcement by mobilizing its members to throw Molotov cocktails and spray flammable substances on their bodies, among other methods.

Under the redevelopment plan approved in December 2023, the church’s site was excluded from the redevelopment area. A total of 2,004 apartment units, including 341 public housing units, are scheduled to be built in the area.

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