[SPOTLIGHT]25/05/14 Korean Church urges people to elect serving, caring president

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New president should promote unity and peace, and work to end discrimination and deprivation for all, say bishops

Former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung (center) speaks during a press conference on his presidential bid for the June election at the National Assembly in the South Korean capital Seoul on April 11. (AFP)

By UCA News reporter

Published: May 15, 2025 10:54 AM GMT

Updated: May 15, 2025 12:01 PM GMT

South Korean Catholic Church has called on people to exercise their voting rights as “a sacred duty” during the election next month and elect a president who can serve and care for people.

In a statement on May 14, Bishop John Kim Son-tae of Jeonju, chairman of the Korean Catholic bishops’ Justice and Peace Committee, reminded people that the upcoming election is “an important moment” in history where all should participate.

He said that Koreans have endured “harsh times” to make “the flower of democracy” bloom, and they must allow this flower "to bloom even more beautifully.”

During the 21st presidential election scheduled for June 3, Koreans should vote “the best politician” who can set the country straight and lead it by serving and caring for the people.

Kim reminded all democratic institutions, including the parliament, judiciary, prosecution and media, that they “should not reign over the people but serve the people.”

“They should also ensure that the government is by the people. This is because a democratic country is not a country with institutions or practices, but a country where the people are the masters,” he said.

Taking cues from late Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, the prelate hoped that the elected president would carry out “healthy politics that can reform and adjust institutions, promote the best practices, and overcome undue pressure and bureaucratic inertia.”

He said people should choose a leader who can become a unifier, and work to end various kinds of societal conflicts, including ideological, generational and gender, which are intensifying.

The new president faces uphill tasks in dealing with discrimination and deprivation between urban and rural areas, the widening rich-poor gap, negligence towards socially disadvantaged people, and discrimination and exclusion against foreigners, especially migrant workers and refugees, he said.

“I hope that the newly elected president will communicate with all the people, especially listen to the socially disadvantaged, and open an era of unity and coexistence,” Kim noted.

The new president should become a promoter of peace, he said, referring to ongoing division and conflict in the Korean Peninsula.

“Our country is a divided nation. The tension and conflict between the South and the North have a very negative impact on the quality of life of each citizen, and they are also a major obstacle to the prosperity of the country and the development of democracy,” he said.

The tension and conflict between the South and the North must be resolved through peaceful means, namely dialogue and compromise, not force, he added.

The prelate also urged the upcoming president to ensure care for the environment and “dying earth” and pay attention to the climate crisis by establishing and implementing policies to protect the ecology and the environment.

South Korea has been in political turmoil in recent months, which led to the ouster of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was elected in 2022.

Yoon and his People Power Party became unpopular for dismal economic policies, graft allegations and escalation in confrontations with North Korea.

Yoon drew international condemnation after he declared martial law in December to block an impeachment bid in the parliament, which he later withdrew amid strong criticism at home and abroad.

Yoon was impeached and suspended from his presidential powers with an overwhelming majority of parliamentarians, including those from his own party, voting in favor.

He was later charged with criminal insurrection for the declaration of martial law and used security forces to evade an arrest warrant from the court, first against a sitting president in the nation’s history. He was later arrested and incarcerated.

Over the past months, supporters of Yoon and the opposition Democratic Party staged a series of rallies and counter rallies in the national capital, Seoul, and other parts of the country.

The Constitutional Court removed him from office on April 4 and upheld the National Assembly’s impeachment.