Twenty-five Korean War veterans gathered outside Seoul Central District Court on the 7th to urge the release on medical bail of Shincheonji Chairman ManHee Lee, citing his age and deteriorating health.

Eun-seok Choi, 99, chairman of the Korean War Veterans Association’s Songpa District Branch, brought a prepared statement but was unable to read it because of his failing eyesight. He said: “I am 99 years old… I am truly frustrated as to how Chairman ManHee Lee, who built a South Korea just like me to be a good place to live, ended up suffering this (arrest).”

He recalled the Korean War, saying veterans had “sacrific[ed] our lives, youth, and blood” to defend the country, and asked whether they should now have to stand in the heat to make their grievances heard.

The veterans questioned whether detention was necessary, asking: “Would a 96-year-old man break through iron bars and escape? Would he even have the strength left to destroy evidence?”

Bong-kwon Kim, a director at the association’s headquarters, said: “A 96-year-old veteran who crossed that horrific line of death together is dying trapped on the cold concrete floor of a solitary cell in a detention centre.” He urged the court to grant medical bail so Chairman Lee could receive treatment and “complete his trial to the very end.”

Yong-bok Lee, an adviser to the Incheon branch, questioned the adequacy of detention-centre healthcare: “If someone becomes short of breath and their heart stops in the middle of the night, how can we ensure the golden time?”

The veterans stressed that their appeal was humanitarian, not an attempt to influence the court’s judgment, and called for Chairman Lee’s prompt release on medical bail.