“한국교회 탄압 중단하라”-수잔 숄티,미 인권단체 항의 서명 운동 

▶ 원문링크  https://christianpower.us/?p=4148

수잔 숄티 디펜스포럼재단 회장 “교회가 희생양됐다”

‘쥬빌리 캠페인’ 북한자유연합 등 서한 작성 —-

코로나 바이러스 방역을 방해했다는 이유로 한국교회에 가해지고 있는 종교탄압을 규탄하는 서명운동이 미국에서 벌어지고 있다.

북한인권운동가 수잔 숄티 디펜스포럼재단 회장은 22일 “한국의 종교인들을 대상으로 문재인 정부가 놀라운 행동을 하고 있다”면서 “팬데믹을 이용해 종교 박해를 하고 있는 문정부에 보내는 서한에 서명해달라”고 요청했다.

숄티 회장은 “이 서명운동은 종교자유를 위한 단체 ‘쥬빌리 캠페인(Jubilee Campaign)과 북한자유연합 창설 멤버 중 한 명이 주도하고 있다”고 설명했다.

‘북한자유연합’은 미국 내 인권단체들의 연합 조직으로, 매년 4월 미 국회의사당, 백악관 등 워싱턴 DC와 한국 서울에서 탈북자 구출 등을 위한 활동을 벌이고 있다.

숄티 회장은 “지난 8.15 광복절 광화문 집회에 참석한 사랑제일교회 성도들이 코로나에 걸렸거나 확산시켰다는 증거가 없으며, 코로나 확산의 이유가 될 수 있는 많은 참석자들은 사랑제일교회 성도들이 아니다”라며 “그럼에도 이들에게는 같은 비난이 가해지지 않는다”고 말했다.

숄티 회장은 또 한국 정부와 문재인 대통령이 사랑제일교회의 정치적 행동을 비난하는 성명을 발표하고 한국교회들이 정부당국으로부터 예배를 방해받고 있는 사실을 지적했다.

숄티 회장은 “교회들은 사회적 거리두기, 세척, 마스크 착용 등 가이드라인을 지키고 있는 반면 해변 방문자들이나 스포츠 게임, 기업 내 회의, 대중교통 등 많은 사람들이 모이는 장소나 행위는 같은 비난을 받지 않고 있다”고 덧붙였다.

이와 함께 숄티 회장은 문 정부에 전달되는 서한이 종교기관 박해 사례 열거와 함께 권고사항도 포함하고 있다고 설명하며 단체 혹은 개인별로 서명에 참여해줄 것을 당부했다.

서명 동참 마감은 8월27일이다.

<서한 확인>

▶ https://www.dropbox.com/s/kfd8bb09ppbmf99/IRF%20South%20Korea%20%5Bletter%5D%20%282%29%20%281%29.docx?dl=0

<서명>

▶ https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfjNwZS3VIWTUWu9z3RxDI38rkQbp0mYNi9vTRJJKQOKwF1vw/viewform

<문의>

▶ inquiries@nkn.us Sydney Kochan, Jason West

<아래는 수잔 숄티 이메일 전문>

Dear Friends:

Please consider joining this letter regarding the targeting of people of faith in South Korea and alarming actions being taken by the Moon administration focused on churches. 

Jubilee Campaign, an organization focused on religious freedom and a founding member of our North Korea Freedom Coalition, is requesting signatories on their letter to President Moon Jae-in regarding religious persecution in South Korea during the pandemic. See below for some important background information on the situation.  

It is believed that COVID-19 first reached South Korea in late January 2020 with minimal cases, but the first major spike in infection rates occurred a month later in late February, after an individual deemed “Patient 31” had attended a large church worship service in Daegu and had later tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The virus swiftly spread amongst the congregation and eventually spread beyond Daegu.  The infection rate stabilized until mid-August when another surge in COVID-19 cases was traced back to political protests attended by some 20,000 citizens, some of whom were members of Sarang Jeil Church, whose leader is a known critic of President Moon’s administration. As a result, the Church and its members have come under mass criticism and persecution as they are scapegoated for causing the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, despite that (1) it is not confirmed that members of the Church that attended the protests had the coronavirus or spread it, and (2) thousands of other individuals not associated with the Church had also attended the protests and have the same likelihood of being spreaders of the disease- these individuals unrelated to the church, however, have not received similar rebuke.

The South Korean government and President Moon have released statements condemning Sarang Jeil Church’s political activities, and Protestant churches throughout the nation have reported being harassed by government authorities and prevented from holding worship services despite the fact that they were adhering to social distancing, sanitation, and mask-wearing guidelines. At the same time,  non-religious activities and locations, such as mass gatherings on Busan’s beaches, sports games, company staff meetings, and public transportation, have drawn tremendous crowds and have not been publicly condemned.

In addition to citing specific examples of religious persecution and scapegoating in South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic, the letter puts forth recommendations for the Moon administration.

The latest draft of the letter is available for your review here. Please note that there may be some updates or additions, as the situation is constantly evolving. If you would like to sign on to the letter as an organization or an individual, please click this link.

The deadline for signatures is 12:00 noon on August 27, 2020. If you have any questions, please contact Sydney Kochan and Jason West.

Thank you for your consideration. 

Blessings,

Suzanne

Suzanne ScholteSeoul Peace Prize LaureatePresident, Defense Forum FoundationChair, North Korea Freedom Coalitionwww.defenseforumfoundation.org

www.nkfreedom.org