Religious leaders held one-person protests outside the Seoul Central District Court on the 20th, calling for bail and a fair judicial process for 95-year-old Shincheonji Chairman ManHee Lee.

Rev. Lee Jung-kyung of the Presbyterian Church of Korea and Kim Jun-yeon, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Sungkyunkwan Confucian Association, criticised religious prejudice and called for the rights, presumption of innocence and advanced age of Chairman ManHee Lee of Shincheonji Church of Jesus to be respected.

Rev. Lee said he felt compelled to speak out against what he viewed as religious persecution, while Kim emphasised that the law should be applied equally and that Chairman Lee’s age and human rights should be considered.

The protests followed a joint statement adopted at the First World Joint Assembly of Pastors, which called for an end to religious discrimination and urged bail for the elderly religious leader.