The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea (CBCK) has denounced the South Korean president's declaration of martial law.
In a statement released on December 4, the CBCK demanded President Yoon Suk Yeol to take responsibility for his actions and sincerely apologize to the people.
“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,” wrote CBCK in the statement, signed by spokesperson and Suwon Bishop Mathias Ri long-hoon.
President Yoon declared emergency martial law on December 3 due to the government paralysis prompted by the opposition-dominated National Assembly. This decision aimed to prohibit all political activities in the country.
Yoon was forced to withdraw the declaration on the morning of December 4 after parliament members decided to vote it down.
Even though martial law only lasted for six hours, the CBCK pointed out that it is questionable “whether the matter was serious and urgent enough to justify such a declaration.”
"Constitutional lawyers agree that President Yoon's declaration of the state of emergency raises numerous problems of procedural legitimacy,” wrote Bishop Mathias.
“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,” he further pointed out.
The prelate expressed their solidarity and support with defending South Korea’s democracy, which has been ‘“built with great sacrifice.”
"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," said Bishop Mathias at the end of the statement.
Other religious groups have also voiced concerns regarding this issue, particularly the Methodist Church of Korea.
Methodist Bishop Kim Chung-suk said that President Yoon committed “a betrayal of the social contract” as he undermined the trust between the people and the government.
Meanwhile, the Korean Church of Human Rights Center revealed that they intend to mobilize Christians in case democracy needs to be defended.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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