hankyoreh

calling for a thorough investigation into the interference and punishment of those responsible

By Park Yu-ri, staff reporter

President Park Geun-hye arrived home on Sept. 10 from an eight-day tour of Russia and Vietnam to find a messy issue to deal with.

Politicians on both sides are demanding that she take action to resolve the issue of the National Intelligence Service’s (NIS) interference in last December’s presidential election. But with the Blue House operating according to its own calculations, there appears to be little chance of a solution that satisfies everyone.

“When Pope Francis told Catholics to ‘get out of your churches,’ he was saying that we should be interested and engaged in social issues.”

This was the somber message from Seong Yeom, a former South Korean ambassador to the Vatican and professor at Sogang University. On the morning of Sept. 11, a committee for a Catholic manifesto on the NIS scandal held a “ten-thousand Catholic manifesto” press conference in front of the ruling Saenuri Party’s (NFP) headquarters in Yeouido. The more than ten thousand Catholics who participated in the manifesto were calling for an investigation into allegations of political interference by the NIS, which is bound by law to remain politically neutral.

“We South Koreans fought against injustice in 1961 [the April Revolution against then-President Syngman Rhee] and 1980 [the democratization movement in Gwangju],” Seong said, his tone growing increasingly emphatic. “We need to carry on that tradition and fight for victory in the NIS case.”

Seong was followed by Jeong Joong-gyu of the Vocational Rehabilitation Institute at Daegu University, who explained the meaning of the manifesto.

“It’s significant as an acknowledgement that most of the Catholic Church’s political actions over the years have primarily been from priests and monks, and an attempt to broaden their scope,” Jeong said.

The signatories called for a special prosecutor’s investigation into the election interference charges, punishment of the culprits, an apology by Park Geun-hye, and an NIS reform plan that “makes sense to the public.”

A group of 15 Catholic representatives and ordinary congregants, including Catholic Peace Community co-president Lee Won-young, announced the start and finish of the press conference with hymns and prayer.

Woori Theology Institute director Kyung Dong-hyun, who led the signature campaign, commented on the meaning of the movement. “Unlike priests, ordinary Catholics face a lot of pressure when it comes to disclosing their names,” Kyung explained. “They’re living in a time when it’s no easy decision to speak out and give your name, yet the response from believers was so strong that more than ten thousand people took part. Some have even suggested using this momentum to try to get 100,000 signatures.”

As of 5 pm on Sept. 10, the manifesto had more than 11,350 signatures.

Jeong Seon-kyung, a 70-year-old who signed as a member of the Diocese of Seoul, said, “The public is demanding reform of the NIS, and with the NIS touching off the whole situation with [Unified Progressive Party lawmaker] Lee Seok-ki and other issues besides, I think more and more people are siding with the politicians they like rather than trying to achieve justice. I signed on because I think a justice that everyone can agree on needs to prevail.”

Fifty Catholics from various walks of life, including writer Gong Ji-young and attorney Kim Hyung-tae, proposed the campaign and set up a committee for the manifesto on Aug. 27. Signatures have been solicited both offline and on, through the fundraising website Social Funch (socialfunch.org/layshout).

Meanwhile, the publishing community issued its own statement urging Park to apologize for the NIS’s election interference and resolve the situation. Participants announced their campaign on Sept. 11, releasing a statement titled “The Flower Tries to Protect Its Roots: An 838-Person Publishing Community Statement Denouncing the NIS’s Election Interference” at the Humanitas book cafe in Seoul’s Seogyo neighborhood.

“We cannot sit back any longer and watch as the public’s hopes that the recent scandal will be resolved in a reasonable and logical way are ignored and the situation continues to deteriorate,” the statement read.

Signatories included numerous publishing company presidents, among them Gang Su-geol of Sanzini, Kim Su-yeong of Rhodos, Park Hye-suk of Prun Books, Yoon Cheol-ho of Social Criticism, Jeong Eun-suk of Maumsan, Jeong Jong-ju of Puri wa Ipari, and Han Cheol-hee of Dolbegae, as well as social critics like Byeon Jeong-su and Won Jong-chan and numerous authors and editors.

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