Meeting with Jerry Pillay, WCC General Secretary
Organized to Discuss Directions for Exchange and Cooperation
President Lee Jaemyung met with Jerry Pillay, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), an ecumenical organization, and expressed his hope that the WCC would support efforts to improve inter-Korean relations if possible.
On the afternoon of August 11, at the presidential office in Yongsan, President Lee received WCC General Secretary Jerry Pillay and said, "I hope that the activities of the WCC, which strives for peace, security, and solidarity around the world, will continue in the future." This meeting was organized to commemorate the long history of solidarity between the WCC and the Korean church, and to discuss directions for future exchange and cooperation.
From the World Council of Churches, General Secretary Jerry Pillay and International Affairs Director Peter Prove attended. From the National Council of Churches in Korea, General Secretary Kim Jongsaeng, President Cho Seongam, Kim Younggeol, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Korea, Park Sangkyu, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, and Park Dongshin, Primate of the Anglican Church of Korea, were present.
President Lee said, "I am well aware of the important role the WCC played in Korea's democratization process, and I am deeply grateful. The WCC also campaigned to save the respected President Kim Dae-jung and raised awareness about human rights violations in Korea, which greatly contributed to the growth and development of democracy in our country."
President Lee added, "The WCC has also played a significant role in peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, as well as in inter-Korean dialogue. I understand that it was the WCC that first opened dialogue between churches in the North and South, and I am truly grateful for that as well."
In response, General Secretary Pillay said, "The President is very well informed about the WCC," and went on to introduce the organization's activities. He also congratulated President Lee on his inauguration, saying, "I am well aware that there are many expectations within Korean society. I can see that trust and expectations for the new government are rising."
Additionally, Park Sangkyu, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, mentioned the period of martial law and made the audience laugh by thanking the President for ensuring he would not have to go to prison again, according to spokesperson Kang Yoojeong. Park Dongshin, Primate of the Anglican Church of Korea, said that watching the President and First Lady visit Sorokdo, he could sense genuine sincerity in the President as a person, beyond his official role. He also asked the President to be someone who stands with bereaved families of tragedies like the Sewol ferry disaster or the Itaewon crowd crush, even standing in the rain alongside the suffering people.
Ambrosios Zografos, President of the National Council of Churches in Korea and originally from Greece, said that Greeks, as citizens of the birthplace of democracy, are grateful and delighted to witness K-democracy. According to spokesperson Kang, President Lee responded by saying that if Athens, Greece is remembered as the birthplace of democracy, he hopes that Korea will be remembered as a country that blossomed democracy through a revolution of light.
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