Rev. Jeon Kwang-hoonn of the Christian Council of Korea was arrested on February 24th.
The Seoul Central District Court's warrant judge issued a warrant for Rev. Jeon on Monday night.
Kim Dong-hyun, a senior judge at the Seoul Central District Court, said Rev. Jeon's arrest warrant was issued because he was involved in a series of pre-election campaigns against a large audience ahead of the general elections.
"As the significance of free and fair elections in representative democratic countries is expected, serious and strict punishment is expected, there are also fears of flight," Kim explained.
Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon was arrested with five charges by the civic group Peace Tree. He was arrested on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act for appealing for support for a particular political party at a rally in Gwanghwamun.
Rev. Jeon Kwang-hoon, however, leads the weekly Gwanghwamun rally, 'A Pan-National Center to Fight Moon Jae-In's Resignation', raising questions about the court's concern that he would flee.
Moreover, it is unprecedented for the head of a coalition representing the Christian community to be arrested in court.
In addition, the Seoul Metropolitan Government filed a complaint with the police on Monday against 10 people related to the rally including Rev. Jeon Kwang-hoon, who held a two-day rally of thousands of people at Gwanghwamun Square from July 22-23.
"War is not a weapon, it's a spirit," Rev. Jeon Kwang-hoon said in a statement to the nation before the hearing, vowing to protect the Republic of Korea even if he is arrested.
