The Church in Korea has taken a stand against the construction of a naval base on Jeju Island, a province of South Korea. The Korean Jesuits are in strong support of this, participating in protests and conducting masses on-site. As a result some have been arrested a number of times in the past for hindering the construction work.
On March 11, the Jeju district court issued arrest warrants for Fr Joseph Chong-uk Kim SJ and Protestant Reverend Lee Jeong-hun. As of March 14, Fr Kim was still being held for investigation and trial.
Jeju Island is called an “island of peace” and the Jeju Volcanic Islands and Lava Tubes are inscribed in UNESCO’s World Heritage List as a natural property of outstanding beauty that is testimony to the history of our planet.
Public opposition to the naval base to be built in the village of Gangjeong has been strong since the location was announced in 2007. The issues include whether the base is necessary, whether the planned base would be harmful to Jeju Island being an island of peace’ and a world heritage site, whether the planned base will heighten military tension in N.E. Asia, whether the national government should beat down local opposition, and whether the construction will destroy irreplaceable environmental treasures.
The confrontation between the central government and civic groups intensified in early March when construction began despite fierce protests by environmentalists, local residents and the municipal government of Jeju.
“The arrested clergymen were using their basic rights of resistance for the sake of justice,” said Bishop Matthias Ri Iong-hoon of Suwon, president of the Korean Bishops’ Conference’s Committee for Justice and Peace, adding that the state had used “every method of manipulation and illegality for construction of the naval base.”
According to Fr Francis Mun-su Park SJ, the controversy over the naval base has become an important issue in the election of national assembly members scheduled for April 11, 2012. The leader of the government party has called the naval base “national policy” but the leader of the main opposition group made a special visit to the construction site in support of its opponents, and said that the project should be put under full review.
To read a report by Fr Francis Mun-su Park SJ, director of the Jesuit Research Center for Advocacy and Solidarity in Korea, on the controversy, click here.
Top photo: Fr Jong-hyun Mun (Jeonju Diocese priest) and Fr John Young-chan Lee SJ (the vested priest) saying Mass at Gureombi rock in August.
