The Suwon District Court granted an injunction suspending the excommunication on July 19, 2024, after Lee filed a lawsuit against the church.
A few days after the festival, he was called to a meeting with local church leaders and reported to the Gyeonggi Annual Conference.
[1] Over 100 pastors from various Korean churches signed a letter supporting him, and individuals donated a total of ₩8,000,000(US$7,200) to cover the costs of his appeal.
Some accused him of being gay, and, according to Lee, some senior pastors attempted to pressure him into dropping his appeal or recant his earlier statements in order to keep his job.
[8][2] After his appeal was dismissed by the church, Lee filed a lawsuit in 2023 with the Seoul Central District Court to have his suspension overturned.
The National Council of Churches in Korea described it as "hate in the name of religion" and defended Lee, calling him "a faithful Christian".
[3] A representative of the LGBT rights group Rainbow Action said they hoped that the church would someday "apologize and repent of its wrongdoing" towards Lee,[10] and the South Korean Coalition for Anti-Discrimination Legislation and Rainbow Jesus announced they would fundraise to help cover Lee's legal fees should he appeal.
According to the tribunal, when Lee performed the blessing and threw flower petals, he had violated their rules prohibiting "advocating or sympathizing with homosexuality" and thus the excommunication was warranted.
[3] Lee filed a lawsuit within the Suwon District court, which granted an injunction to temporarily suspend the excommunication on July 19, 2024.
[5] In 2021 Lee was recognized by the Korean branch of Amnesty International for his activism,[8][15] and in 2022, he founded a Christian LGBT activist group called Q&A.
[18] Lee Dong-hwan was raised in a religious family, although he did not view himself as particularly devout until he chose to attend a theological college as a teenager.