Religious Leaders from 8 Major Sects in Gwangju and Jeonnam Declare Support for Lee Jae Myung

Press Conference at Gwangju City Council: "An Overwhelming Victory Is Needed"
"The Only Leader Capable of Achieving National Unity and Major Social Reform"

Religious leaders belonging to the 8 Major Religious Sects in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions and the Honam Jeju branch of the URI Korea Religious Peace Alliance held a press conference at 2 p.m. on the 7th in the Citizen Communication Room of the Gwangju City Council, officially declaring their support for Lee Jae Myung, the Democratic Party preliminary candidate for the June 3 presidential election. Photo by Kang Seongsu

On May 7, religious leaders from the 8 major religious sects in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions officially declared their support for Lee Jae Myung, the Democratic Party's preliminary candidate, ahead of the June 3 presidential election. They emphasized, "This presidential election is a crucial event that stands at a crossroads for the protection and advancement of democracy in the Republic of Korea," and stressed, "An overwhelming victory for candidate Lee Jae Myung is necessary to eradicate forces of insurrection and to build a just Korea."

Religious leaders belonging to the Honam Jeju branch of the URI Korea Religious Peace Alliance held a press conference in the Citizen Communication Room of the Gwangju City Council that afternoon, designating former President Yoon Suk Yeol, Chief Justice Cho Hee Dae, former Prime Minister Han Duck Soo, and former Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon Soo as "forces of insurrection" responsible for undermining the constitutional order.

The religious leaders from the 8 major sects stated in their declaration, "Only candidate Lee Jae Myung is the sole leader who can correct constitutional disorder and restore procedural democracy." They particularly criticized, "Chief Justice Cho Hee Dae's court undermined judicial democracy by exonerating former President Yoon, and former Prime Minister Han Duck Soo abandoned his duty to protect the constitutional order," adding, "The forces of insurrection are damaging the strict neutrality of the presidential election."

They further argued, "Candidate Lee is the only person who has served as a head of a basic and metropolitan local government, a member of the National Assembly, and a party leader, making him the right person to restore the destroyed constitutional order and achieve national unity and major social reform." They insisted, "We must work together to build a just and prosperous Korea through a national alliance that includes conservatives, moderates, and progressives."

This official declaration of support is interpreted as a symbolic action demonstrating the political will of the religious community in Gwangju and Jeonnam to promote a nationwide alliance, including the Seoul metropolitan area, Yeongnam, Chungcheong, and Gangwon regions.

Meanwhile, the representatives of the 8 major sects who participated in the declaration included Park Sangkyu, National General Assembly Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Korea; Jang Gwanchul, Senior Pastor of Mujin Church; Yoo Doeun, Won-Buddhism Minister of the Gwangju and Jeonnam Diocese; Jo Youngdae, Catholic priest; Wolin, Director of the Taego Order Gwangju and Jeonnam Office; Hyeonji, Jogye Order monk; Kim Gwanghun, former Gwangju and Jeonnam NCC representative (Presbyterian pastor); Jo Jeomhwa, former Gwangju and Jeonnam NCC representative (Presbyterian pastor); Jang Heonkwon, former Human Rights Committee Chair of Gwangju and Jeonnam NCC (Presbyterian pastor); Jeong Younggyun, President of the Sungkyunkwan Yudo Association Gwangju Headquarters; Jo Bonghun, Cheondogyo Gwangju Diocese Chief; Kang Dongwon, Advisor to the Daejonggyo National Ancestor Reverence Association; and Lee Woosong, Anglican priest.