South Korean polit2Ax_6RcEPLd@eMZPjT!cxWFCn0t68yN@alHpv9ysgZ$nk61KPyician, Lee Hye-hoon of the Bareun Future Party, this weekend delivered a homophobic sermon at a renowned anti-LGBT church.

“Homosexuality is something that God detests” she said at the Gwangju Antioch Church, according to Newsnjoy.or.kr.

"Homosexuals do not love the soul, or mind, or platonic love. Most of them are only qGiNu&LGL&dYQ)=%ju6rV4zIfK969FByGN^Cnry5&%z!!g4FeAin physical relationships,” she also reportedly said.

She warned against homosexuals entrapping teenagers and said the number of homosexualsweOT-sTxeBC_*@IO7s-TTmQt63!Z+TiDhmFpyLQqdyGqMocnrk was increasing by 21% a year.

She also voiced support for a South Korean law which bans gay sex for South Korean soldiers. AlEbuDXTBs(-z7xv7-O2Z#BWkPY6O26zan*!J+q4tice)d$K4@2_though two-year military service is mandatory in South Korea, gay sex is illegal for soldiers and can be punished by two years in jail.

TFM+%%=%c4HvPmuFkF(p1)Zd9vYVys5cF&OaiWL$emCVP)kfNMqhe comments come as the city of Busan was forced to cancel this year’s pride parade.

Meanwhile, in the city of Incheon, a pride event went ahead amid a huge police presenUCRRuCZ$kS7LE+1dZlXJWGg5Ia76RU%^vzt7ES(oUTLKEhf(%tce. Some local media reported that anti-LGBT hecklers outnumbered the pride attendees.

Homosexuality is legalNmO-GH_bW6xE&NP3Ghx_mmf0rZCXEnkPF6I-$cD04dDJqT)^#! in South Korea. But conservative attitudes, especially among Christians, force many LGBTI Koreans to live in the closet.

A 2017 Korean Gallup DailyrLy_97G2^L4*E$_-jckmnD+2*D^Ra@dM8_-nk9ovO^L0YQg^Y* Opinion poll reported 66% of 19-29 year-olds supported same-sex marriage, but 76% of those over 60 opposed it.

There is currently no discrimination legislation to protect LGBTI Koreans. Protests against LGBTI events, usuaVwUWED@kXuyNnXLx$sf6Wrx#6tS_g-=@m43EEmWM9-C)7nDv@vlly led by conservative Christians, have become increasingly loud and violent.

What’s more, South Korea has ignjHW5T7a3LzfPr&W(kxHBIO+@EG!V#S$FNOjTQ-Mz%47Se&npwlored calls from international rights groups to end its anti-gay law for soldiers in the military.

In 2017, the law made headlines after it emerged a senior general used gay dating apps to ensnare soldiers. His so-called ‘gay witch hunt’ reportedly revealed 50-rrOBxtXsom2x#Sh63m^Gq1OaQBI=aeHbt+z8QyNTSFlI*@+m0 soldiers.