President Lee Jae Myung on Monday accused the Unification Church and Shincheonji Church of inflicting serious harm on society, echoing the assessment of Korea's major religious leaders who described the groups as pseudo-religious organizations.
Lee made the remarks during a luncheon with religious leaders at the Blue House, according to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung.
Leaders from Korea’s seven major religious traditions — Buddhism, Protestantism, Catholicism, Won Buddhism, Confucianism, Cheondoism and indigenous religions — attended the meeting.
They called for authorities to handle practices that encourage “improper ties between religion and politics” — and instead “inflict significant damage on citizens’ lives” — in a strict manner so that people's faith in religion and its role in contributing to public happiness could be restored.
“The public would also support the dissolution of religious organizations that harm the nation and its people,” they said, urging the government to consider ways to compensate victims of problematic religious foundations by using those religious groups' assets, according to Kang.
Previously, at a Cabinet meeting on Dec. 2 last year, Lee instructed Minister of Government Legislation Cho Won-cheol to review whether authorities could order the dissolution of religious groups, citing cases in which religious foundations had intervened in politics. Last Friday, he stated that legal entities in general should be dissolved if they commit acts that violate the law or the Constitution or draw public condemnation.
The president also reiterated his concerns about deepening social divisions during Monday's meeting.
“As many people have noticed, conflict, aversion and hatred in our society seem to be increasing significantly,” he said. “I will do my best to help Korea become a society in which people can live together through reconciliation, forgiveness and inclusion.”
He continued, “I am making the effort [to accomplish this], but there are many limits.”
Speaking on behalf of the attendees, Ven. Jinwoo, the president of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and co-chair of the Korean Council of Religious Leaders, said there is no difference between the president and religious leaders when it comes to wishing for peace and stability for the nation and its people.
“The security of people’s hearts is as important as national security,” Jinwoo said. He then highlighted Korea’s world-high suicide rate, ultralow birth rate, rapidly aging population and low happiness index as signs that the public is deeply exhausted.
“If the government is responsible for the foundations of life through systems and policy, the religious community should be responsible for peace of mind and spiritual stability,” he said, adding that religious leaders should respect each other’s faiths while joining forces in common areas such as meditation and healing.
Religious leaders also praised Lee for recently addressing anti-Chinese sentiment and other forms of hatred, spokesperson Kang said. They warned that hostility toward migrants was becoming fertile ground for fascism and said many people would support efforts to reject such hatred and social division.
The luncheon was attended by Ven. Jinwoo; Ven. Deoksu, the president of the Cheontae Order of Korean Buddhism; Ven. Sangjin, the president of the Taego Order of Korean Buddhism; Rev. Kim Jeong-seok, the president of the United Christian Churches of Korea; Rev. Park Seung-ryeol, the general secretary of the National Council of Churches in Korea; Rev. Ko Kyung-hwan, representative president of the Christian Council of Korea; Bishop Matthias Ri Long-hoon, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea; Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick of the Archdiocese of Seoul; Na Sang-ho, the executive leader of Won Buddhism; Choi Jong-soo, the head of Sungkyunkwan; Patriarch Park In-jun of Cheondoism; and Kim Ryeong-ha, the chair of the Korean National Religious Council.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
