PM renews push to combat religious interference in politics

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok vowed to root out illegal political activities by religious groups, at a news conference held in his official residence in Seoul on Monday.

Kim, who assumed the office in July, said dealing with religious interference would be one of his primary goals to live up to the prime minister’s role in upholding constitutional values.

Saying that he will do his part to ensure that the Lee Jae Myung administration’s core tasks are successfully carried out, he added that he will give particular attention to “eradicate insurrection forces within South Korea’s armed forces, complete the prosecutorial reform, prevent politically motivated terrorism and stamp out any interference with politics by heretical sects such as Shincheonji.”

The Shincheonji Church of Jesus is a religious group led by Lee Man-hee, who faces allegations of instructing his followers to join the conservative People Power Party, which some allege as a violation of the Political Parties Act.

Kim’s remarks followed a meeting with US Vice President JD Vance two weeks earlier in Washington. Kim was the first prime minister to lead a South Korean delegation to the US in more than four decades.

Kim said in January he sought Vance’s understanding over what could be seen as thorny issues in Seoul-Washington ties, such as the liberal administration’s alleged religious suppression over ties with its conservative opposition and what could be perceived as discriminatory actions against US tech firms like e-commerce giant Coupang, regarding South Korea’s law enforcement against its consumer data leak that is believed to effect over 33 million users.

According to Kim, Vance pointed to the detention of South Korean pastor Son Hyun-bo, who was behind bars for six months for criminal court trials and was released on Jan. 30 after he was sentenced to a suspended six-month prison term for violating election rules.

Son was found guilty of mobilizing followers to collectively vote for specific candidates in two elections last year, including the June presidential election that Lee Jae Myung won. A court arrest warrant was issued in September against Son, who also led right-leaning campaigns to oppose disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s removal from office.

Prime Minister Kim in January told South Korean correspondents in Washington that he explained to Vance that South Korea “strictly separates church from politics,” and its investigations into various religious sects stem from their alleged collusion with a political party.

Meeting with Vance, Kim said he compared his administration’s move to a Japanese court’s order to dissolve the Unification Church in 2025 following a petition concerning the 2022 assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Kim relayed that Vance expressed his respect for South Korea’s system and that the matter should be managed delicately to avoid misunderstandings.

Kim also said in January that Vance “expressed his understanding” as he denied having ordered a discriminatory probe into Coupang or having conducted discriminatory treatment against it.

Meanwhile, the South Korean prime minister hailed his establishment of a “hotline” with Vance — a week before US President Donald Trump hinted at raising the 15 percent tariff on a bulk of South Korean goods imported to the US to 25 percent — as a key outcome of his diplomatic actions Monday.

“Over the past seven months of my tenure as the prime minister, I have been engaged in various diplomatic activities, including my establishment of a hotline with Vance,” Kim said.

Earlier in January, Kim had said his meeting with Vance allowed him to build a hotline between the two, amid ongoing bilateral discussions concerning the overarching trade and security deal between Seoul and Washington. Kim also said Vance had pointed to “bureaucratic delays” both in Seoul and Washington, which Kim viewed as a “proactive” response.

Kim also rejected claims that the hotline has failed to serve its purpose with regard to Trump’s social media post on rising tariffs, saying that Seoul and Washington have communicated closely on the matter.

Kim said that as far as he is aware, Trump’s message was unexpected and appeared to have been made without the knowledge of US officials. The prime minister said the hotline and other lines of communications between the two nations had enabled Seoul to respond and manage the situation.

Kim also rejected speculations that issues surrounding e-commerce platform Coupang were behind Trump’s tariff comment.

During the conference, Kim also denied rumors that he might run to lead the Democratic Party of Korea at a party convention scheduled in August, amid accusations of violating election law by convening a meeting with Democratic Party members in his official residence.

“Ahead of the (June) elections, I am met with various political speculations and questions, but I have prioritized the success of the national administration over all issues, and will continue to do so,” Kim said.

consnow@heraldcorp.com