아시아 10/10/15 Korean Church reviews ‘pro-Japan collaborator’ - By John Choi, Seoul

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Korean Church reviews ‘pro-Japan collaborator’

Published Date: October 15, 2010

By John Choi, Seoul

Archbishop Paul Ro Ki-nam of Seoul (Photo courtesy of Seoul archdiocese)

Seoul archdiocese is reviewing the life of Catholic Archbishop Paul Ro Ki-nam as a collaborator with Imperial Japan.

A symposium on Archbishop Paul Ro and Korean Catholic Church on Oct. 15 sheds new light on the life of the late Seoul archbishop, regarded by many as a “Japanese collaborator.”

Organized by Seoul archdiocese-run Research Foundation of Korean Church History, the symposium aims to show the  late archbishop’s efforts to protect the Church during the colonial rule.

Augustine Lee Jang-woo, the institute’s chief researcher, justified the prelate’s alleged collaboration.   “Archbishop Ro worked to sustain the identity of the Korean Church under the pressure of Japanese colonialists,” he said.

Lee recounted an incident during during the prelate’s term as Archbishop when  Japanese imperialists had tried to appoint a Japanese bishop, threatening closure of the Yongsan Major Seminary in Seoul.

“Archbishop Ro advised the faithful not to confess concrete facts in the confessional,” Lee added.

“The symposium re-eval‎uates his life, faith and activities, fulfilling his role as the archbishop of Seoul. It will help people see him from the right angle,” said research institute director Father Joseph Kim Sung-tae.

Archbishop Ro (1902-1984), the first native Korean bishop, led Seoul archdiocese for 25 years during Korea’s chaotic state of affairs during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945), Korean War (1950-1953) and military dictatorship. He was a key to the Korean Catholic Church until his retirement in 1967. However, he became embroiled in controversy after being accused of supporting Japanese colonial rule.

The late archbishop was listed as a Japanese collaborator with six other Catholics in a Pro-Japanese Collaborators Encyclopedia issued by the Institute for Research on Collaborationist Activities last November.

As stated in the encyclopedia, he chaired the Catholic Federation of Seoul Diocese to Fully Support Japan´s War from 1940 and was said to have visited a Korean soldiers’ training camp for Koreans forced to “volunteer” to fight for Japan.