Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
by Pascale Rizk
Seoul (Agenzia Fides) - "The behavior of President Yoon, a man who denies what exists and asserts what does not exist, no longer surprises us. We ask ourselves: how can someone behave like this?".
If the group of 1,466 Catholic priests, including five high-ranking clergymen, expected a response to the statement published about ten days ago in which they accused the President of neglecting his constitutional responsibilities and accusing him of fomenting division in society and calling for his resignation, it was not long in coming.
Last night at 10 o'clock, President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law live on television. Yoon said he wanted to protect democracy through martial law in order to "eliminate the pro-North Korean forces and protect the democratic constitutional order". At 2 a.m. Seoul time, the law was repealed in a parliamentary vote by 190 out of 300 votes. The vote was made possible by the fact that the MPs gathered in the building despite the blockade imposed by the military.
It was also 10 p.m. 44 years ago when the South Korean army's repression led to the Gwangju massacre on May 18, 1980, in response to the popular uprising following the events of 1979 and 1980. The Catholic Church has again spoken out. In a statement released on the morning of today, December 4, the Korean Bishops' Conference stated: "The imposition of a state of emergency last night must have kept many Koreans awake. Unless there is an urgent need, the government and administrative procedures of a state should be carried out in a normal manner and be known to the citizens."
The statement was signed by the spokesman of the Korean Bishops' Conference, Matthias Iong-hoon RI, the current Bishop of Suwon - the second largest diocese in the country - who, together with the Faith and Ministry Delegation (composed of the National Council of Churches in Korea NCCK, which includes the Catholic Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Salvation Army, the Orthodox Church, the Anglican Church, the Church of God and the Lutheran Church, ed. ) met Pope Francis a week ago, on November 27, at the conclusion of the General Audience in St. Peter's Square in Rome, to ask the Pope to pray for peace on the Korean peninsula and to visit Pyongyang in due course to peacefully mediate relations between the two Koreas.
"We who profess our unity in Christ, especially those who experienced the tragedy of the Korean War, pray that the current tensions will not degenerate into a third world war and that a state of peace will be established on the Korean peninsula. May this important meeting become a springboard for peace and the unification of the Korean peninsula," said the Korean delegation when meeting the Pope.
The letter published today by the Catholic bishops states: "Constitutional lawyers agree that President Yoon's declaration of the state of emergency raises numerous problems of procedural legitimacy. Although the state of emergency was lifted following a parliamentary vote, it is questionable whether the matter was serious and urgent enough to justify such a declaration, which was lifted after only six hours."
"Many are asking the President whether it was right to impose martial law in 2024, which was imposed only during the military regime, while there was neither a hostile invasion from outside nor a visible threat of war," continue the Bishops, who address President Yoon directly in the last part of the statement: "It is imperative that the President personally go before the people to explain what happened, sincerely apologize to the people and take responsibility for the process of imposing and lifting martial law. Our democracy was built at great sacrifice. The Catholic Church in Korea actively supports and stands in solidarity with the Korean people to protect our democracy". "We urge President Yoon Seok-yul and the government to sincerely respond to the requests of the Catholic Church of Korea and the Korean people," the letter concludes. (Agenzia Fides, 4/12/2024))
