SPOTLIGHT 23/07/07 Church deplores ‘anti-state forces’ remark by South Korean leader

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Church deplores ‘anti-state forces’ remark by South Korean leader

The Yoon Suk-yeol regime's policy on North Korea is going against the Church's position that seeks peace

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol in New York on Sept. 21, 2022. Yoon has come under criticism from the Catholic Church for calling those seeking the end of sanctions against North Korea 'anti-state forces.' (Photo: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images)

By UCA News reporter

Published: July 12, 2023 11:53 AM GMT

A South Korean Church official has criticized President Yoon Suk-yeol for terming those working for peace and reconciliation in the Korean peninsula as "anti-state forces." 

The Korean Church is concerned as it strived for reconciliation for decades, said Father Oh Yong-ho from Incheon Diocese and an advisor to the Catholic bishops’ National Reconciliation Committee.

The president’s statement revealed the government’s “extreme position” on North Korea, he told the media on July 7.

The priest's reaction came after Yoon apparently took a jibe at former President Moon Jae-in who pursued a pacifist policy with North Korea. 

Yoon was speaking at an event in Seoul marking the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War on June 28.

Yoon said those "begging for the lifting of UN sanctions on North Korea and pushing for an end-of-war declaration with Pyongyang" are “anti-state forces with a distorted view of history." 

Such people "had significantly undermined South Korea's security," Yonhap news agency reported.

In a Facebook post on July 3, the former president commented that it seems “there are still many people who have not escaped from the Cold War mentality," in an apparent rebuttal against Yoon’s statement.

"I think about how different the inter-Korean relations, security situation, and even the economy would have been if successive governments had been consistent in their policies for peace," Moon wrote.

He added that previous governments that established diplomatic ties with communist countries and signed agreements with Pyongyang made progress in inter-Korean relations, diplomacy, and national income, Yonhap reported.

The exact opposite had happened during other governments and peace was jeopardized, he noted.

Oh wondered if Korean Church should be labeled an "anti-state force" for its policy of peace and reconciliation with North Korea, which was in line with the previous government and opposite of the current administration.

As part of efforts for national reconciliation and unity, the Korean Church has been at the forefront of declaring an end to the Korean War and making efforts to provide humanitarian aid to North Korea, the priest said. 

“The Korean Church has no choice but to be seen as an anti-state force,” he said referring to the president’s remarks.

Peace, reconciliation and unity with North Korea have been a pastoral priority of the Korean Church for decades.

The Church welcomed when former President Moon met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un for an inter-Korean summit in Panmunjom in 2018 and adopted a Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Reunification of the Korean Peninsula.

Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-jong, then president of the national bishops’ conference issued a statement at that time.

“I hope that the declaration of an end to the war in the Korean Peninsula and a peace agreement will be reached through the inter-Korean summit and the North Korea-U.S. summit,” the statement said. 

On June 25, 2020, Bishop Peter Lee Ki-heon, then chairperson of the National Reconciliation Committee, said that the declaration of an end to the war is essential for peace.

“Due to the reality of the state of armistice, we have walked through rough times on the road to peace. The most important thing for the Korean Peninsula is for a peace treaty to be reached along with the declaration of an end to the war,” Bishop Lee said.

On Sept. 22 that year, heads of the seven major religious orders in Korea, including the Catholic Church, released a video that said they “hope that peace on the Korean Peninsula is to be established not only through the end of the war but also through a peace treaty.” 

On June 24 of that year, Korean Church leaders held a press conference to announce the start of a campaign for the end of the war on the Korean Peninsula.

This June, the Justice and Peace Committee of the Uijeongbu Diocese, which covers the border zone with North Korea, started a signature campaign seeking the implementation of the 2018 Panmunjom Declaration.

In the three-point Panmunjom Declaration, the governments of North Korea and South Korea agreed to promote efforts for reunification, reduce military tension, and establish a permanent and peaceful Korean peninsula peace regime.

“The current government is destroying the Korean Church’s long-promoted efforts for reconciliation between North and South Korea,” Oh said, adding that the government policy goes against the spirit of the nation’s constitution.

James Byun Jin-heung, an academic and adviser to the bishops’ national reconciliation committee, also agreed that the Yoon Seok-yeol regime's policy on North Korea is going “in the opposite direction to the position of the Korean Church."

Communist North Korean forces invaded the South during the Korean War (1950-53) and retreated only after the UN's intervention. It is estimated that about four million were killed and ten million were displaced.

An armistice, not a peace treaty, ended the conflict, which means two nations are technically still at war.