Eunpyeong First Church Releases Footage of December Event
Democratic Party Lawmakers: "Justifying Violence in the Name of Faith"
It has recently come to light that, at the end of last year, a play was performed at Eunpyeong First Church in Eunpyeong District, Seoul, featuring scenes in which President Lee Jaemyung was mocked and assaulted. This revelation has sparked controversy.
On the 6th, media outlets including The Hankyoreh reported that Park Jumin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Seoul Eunpyeong-gap), and Kim Wooyoung (representing Seoul Eunpyeong-eul), urged the church to apologize and implement measures to prevent recurrence. They stated that the church staged a play under the title "The Night Before Martial Law," using the format of a play to defend Yoon Suk-yeol's acts of insurrection.
A scene from the play performed at Eunpyeong First Church last December. Screenshot from Counters (Far-Right Tracking Group) on X (formerly Twitter).
On the 15th, Assemblyman Park and Assemblyman Kim held a protest rally in front of the church, demanding an apology and preventive measures from the church. Assemblyman Kim pointed out, "During an event last December, a play was performed in which someone dressed as President Lee Jaemyung was violently dragged out." He added, "This is a dangerous example of justifying violence in the name of faith and turning the church into a space for far-right political agitation."
The play in question was performed on December 2 of last year during an event called "The Night Before Martial Law Festival," and video footage of the event was released through social media earlier this month.
The video shows a person wearing prison clothes and a mask resembling President Lee Jaemyung being dragged out by two people wielding batons, kicked, and shoved, while being ordered to "apologize." The play concludes with the masked person kneeling and saying, "I'm sorry. I was really wrong," then being tied with a rope and dragged offstage.
The audience clapped and laughed during this scene, and the host introduced the play by saying, "This is what we hope for."
On the 15th, Park Jumin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, held a protest rally in front of Eunpyeong Jeil Church. Photo captured from Park Jumin's social media (SNS).
Assemblyman Park stated, "Although it was presented in the form of a play, it incited violence and undermined constitutional values." He added, "It is especially unacceptable in society for young people to be repeatedly exposed to such hateful content." Assemblyman Park said he sent a letter of protest to the church, demanding an explanation, an apology, and measures to prevent recurrence.
Eunpyeong First Church was previously embroiled in controversy last year when it invited Moss Tan, a professor from Liberty University in the United States who claims election fraud, to hold a rally. At the time, Moss Tan promoted a conspiracy theory that the National Election Commission had bribed the judiciary and made public statements about President Lee that were not based on fact.
The church has not yet released an official public statement regarding the play.
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