정치

The Protestant Church to Hwang Kyo-ahn: Is It an Ally or a Burden?

입력 2019.06.07 18:01

Kang Byeong-han

Liberty Korea Party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn attends a meeting of the party's Supreme Council members and senior lawmakers at the National Assembly on June 5. Kweon Ho-wook, Senior Reporter

The mainstream Protestants, assessed as the Liberty Korea Party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn's allies, have become a burden to the opposition party leader recently. Some Christians are triggering religious conflicts and getting involved in politics voicing extreme words, such as "President Moon Jae-in should step down," "Jeolla-do is red," and "The Buddhist leadership is leftist." Some people believe that the Protestants are actually the obstacle blocking Hwang from expanding his support base.

The conservative Protestant community has been cited as the sturdy support of the missionary, Hwang Kyo-ahn who "has never missed a Sunday worship in the past fifty years." Reverend Jeon Gwang-hun, chairman of the Christian Council of Korea, a union of Protestant churches, said to Hwang, who visited him in March, "I hope you can become the third state leader following presidents Rhee Syng-man and Park Chung-hee," and Hwang replied, "I would be grateful if you could ardently pray for me and our Liberty Korea Party and gather the support of our ten million Christians."

On Buddha's Birthday on May 12, Hwang refused to follow the Buddhist practice in a ceremony celebrating the birth of Buddha and faced criticism from Buddhists. At that time, the Christians defended Hwang saying, "we wonder if this is a country where there is freedom of religion" (Communion of Churches in Korea), and accusing the Buddhist leadership of "intentions to lead the world to a leftist world" (Christian Council of Korea).

Hwang also seemed intent to live up to the expectations of the Protestants. On homosexuality, the biggest issue in the Christian circle, Hwang said, "I am against homosexuality. It should not be accepted even from a political point of view," on May 17 and agreed to the position of the Protestant churches.

However, recent comments by some Protestant leaders have gone too far and have actually put a burden on Hwang. Reverend Jeon released a statement on the affairs of state on June 5 and demanded President Moon step down by the end of this year to protect the Republic of Korea. He also made outrageous comments such as "The Republic of Korea is becoming North Korea-friendly and communist due to the Moon Jae-in government," and "The Moon Jae-in regime has turned the Juche philosophy into a religious belief."

정치 많이 본 기사

During a sermon last month, Jeon also stirred controversy by claiming that Hwang had asked him, "If I become president, will you serve as a minister?" At the time, Hwang denied having made such a request claiming, "That's ridiculous."

In a "talk concert" the previous day, Hwang said, "We cannot win in next year's parliamentary elections with 'concrete support' in the 30% level. We need to approach the moderates." But if the extreme remarks by some Protestants continue, Hwang's calls for diving into the moderates may end as an empty slogan. One senior lawmaker said, "Hwang needs to establish his relationship with the extreme conservative Protestants well."

경향신문

The Protestant Church to Hwang Kyo-ahn: Is It an Ally or a Burden?

지금 많이 보는 기사

읽어볼 만한 기사

뉴스룸 PICK

에디터 PICK