RELIGIOUS FERVOR AMONG KOREAN VOTERS

UNCLAS SEOUL 002269 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KS SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS FERVOR AMONG KOREAN VOTERS -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Religion is emerging as an influencing factor in the December South Korean presidential election. Both liberal and conservative religious groups have formed liaisons with like-minded NGOs, bolstering each side's position on controversial issues. In particular, conservative Protestant groups have been vocal about their support for the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) and its candidates. As presidential hopefuls try to rally support among the religious population by attending religious events, their own religious beliefs have been thrust into the spotlight. Notably, frontrunner Lee Myung-bak's devout belief in Christianity has garnered support from Protestants while most Buddhists remain wary. END SUMMARY. -------------- RELIGIOUS GROUPS: INCREASING POLITICAL CLOUT -------------- ¶2. (U) Religion is emerging as an influencing factor in the December South Korean presidential election. In a survey of the Protestant population by a Korean Daily, Kookmin Ilbo, on February 15, 64.7 percent of the surveyed said that whether the presidential candidate is Protestant or not is an important criterion. Of those surveyed, 50.2 percent responded that in past elections they have voted for certain candidates because they were fellow Protestants. Supposing that there would be a Protestant candidate for the upcoming election, 61.5 percent said they would vote for the Protestant candidate. Meanwhile, 89.7 percent of the respondents saw it in a positive light that an increasing number of Protestant leaders have become politically active. ¶3. (U) While pundits' opinions are divided on whether or not religion is a significant factor in the election, they all agree that the role of religious groups and leaders has grown significantly in the political sphere. Both liberal and conservative Christian groups joined forces with NGOs mirroring their beliefs on the political spectrum, and emerged as formidable actors on the political scene as they raised their voices about controversial issues. For instance, the Christian Council of Korea (CCK),a conservative Protestant churches' group, has aligned with the "New Right" NGOs and rallied support for the GNP's position on issues such as the revision of the Private School Law, U.S.- ROK alliance and North Korea policy. (Note: conservative organizations began to emerge as the "New Rights" aiming to replace the so-called "Old right force" after GNP's failure in the 2004 National Assembly election. End Note.) ¶4. (U) Presidential hopefuls have also been trying to cater to the religious communities for support. After experiencing a severe backlash from non-Christians because of his 2004 remark "devot(ing) Seoul to God," the leading candidate from the conservative Grand National Party (GNP),Lee Myung-bak, has been trying to garner support from Buddhists while trying to reaffirm the support from the Protestant community. (Note: According to statistics released by the Korean National Statistical Office in May, 2006, 22.8 percent of the total population identified themselves as Buddhists; 18.3 percent as Protestants, and 10.9 percent as Catholics. End Note.) Most of the leading presidential hopefuls -- notably Lee and Park Geun-hye from the GNP, and Sohn Hak-kyu and Chung Dong-young from the liberal side -- showed up at the celebration of Buddha's birthday on May 24 at Jogye-sa, the largest temple in South Korea. Lee, Park and Sohn also showed up at the Protestant service on Easter, attended by 30,000 people. ¶5. (U) In addition, both the conservative and liberal sides have been recruiting religious leaders and NGOs into their camp or inviting them to preside as the "elders" at their political events. At the GNP verification hearing on July 19, Pastor In Myung-jin and the Venerable Bokwang were on the panel, grilling the two GNP frontrunners about their past. On July 4, Pastor Park Hyung-kyu and Father Kim Byung-sang participated in the first meeting of the liberal presidential hopefuls at which they agreed to hold a joint primary and field a sole liberal candidate. -------------- --- CONSERVATIVE PROTESTANTS MOST ACTIVE IN POLITICS -------------- --- ¶6. (U) Among all religious groups in Korea, conservative Protestant groups are the most active in pursuing a role in politics. While other religious communities, such as Buddhist and Catholic groups, hold back from endorsing a specific candidate or party for the upcoming election, some Protestant groups have had no qualms about doing so. On June 21, "Korea Christian Reform Movement," a conservative Protestant organization, announced their official endorsement of Lee Myung-bak for president. Choi Hee Boum, Executive Secretary of CCK, informed the Embassy of CCK's "plans and SIPDIS ways to get around the election law to support the GNP candidate." For example, they would have Christian revivals where participants would not mention any specific candidates, but would have "a deep understanding of whom they are praying for," he said. Current Korean election law bans campaigning before the "official campaigning period" which lasts for just the 23 days prior to the presidential election. ¶7. (U) Some religious groups decided to use their position to influence who would be elected to public office, mimicking the progressive NGOs' "Rejection Campaign" in the 2000 National Assembly elections. In 2000, a coalition of 463 NGOs compiled a list of candidates "unqualified" for seats in the National Assembly and campaigned against them. Signaling that they want to play a similar role in the 2008 National Assembly elections, a month ago CCK announced their selection of five parliamentarians to "reject," those who CCK viewed as unqualified candidates for the National Assembly because they opposed re-revision of the Private School Law. Among the five was Lee Hae-chan, a liberal presidential hopeful who is rumored to be backed by the current South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun. ¶8. (U) While liberal Christian groups have yet to endorse a candidate among the disarray in the liberal side, both progressive and conservative Christian groups joined forces with NGOs with similar political beliefs. With the South Korean presidential election only five months away, both sides reorganized themselves into several large forums. On July 10, 2007, 20 conservative Christian groups formed the "Christian Union for Development," as a part of the "Pan-National Movement for Development," a coalition of 90 conservative NGOs which will embark on a nationwide tour from September to November to promote conservative policies. On July 2, 70 politically liberal pastors launched the "Christian Initiative Committee" to establish the "Korean Progressive Solidarity," an alliance of 22 liberal NGOs. ¶9. (U) While not all Protestants view this trend in a positive light, an increasing number of Protestants support it. In a survey of 1,500 Protestants by Korean National Association of Christian Pastors (KACP) in May 2007, 59.5 percent responded they support churches' participation in politics. This is a jump from 42.7 percent of support rate from the same survey in February 2007. Meanwhile, the percentage of those surveyed who responded negatively toward this trend decreased from 52 percent to 37.5 percent. -------------- -- RELIGIOUS PROFILES OF THE PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS -------------- -- ¶10. (U) Lee Myung-bak is a devout Protestant and an "Elder" at Somang Church in Apgujeong-dong, an affluent neighborhood in Seoul. According to political observers, his declaration that he would "devote Seoul to God" at a Christian prayer service in a Seoul gymnasium on May 30, 2004, was an apparent move to rally support from Christians in Seoul against the government's plan to move the capital to Chungchong Province. Buddhist groups lashed out at Lee, condemning the Mayor for making political remarks at a religious event. In an effort to defend himself, he explained later that the word "devote" was not meant literally, but Buddhists still remain wary of Lee. Kim Pan-dong, Planning & Public Relations Team leader at Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, said the Buddhist community is worried about Lee's "exclusive attitude toward other religions." Their concern about Lee resulted in another controversy when Lee made a speech via video at a gathering of Christian groups' in Busan in June 2006 at which the participants reportedly prayed for the "destruction of Buddhist temples in Busan." ¶11. (U) Some Catholics were also irked by Lee Myung-bak's comment that "abortion may be inevitable in some cases such as deformity or disability" on May 12 2007. Among Protestants, however, Lee continues to receive strong support. According to the May 23 survey by Munhwa Ilbo, a Korean daily, 53.8 percent of the Protestants surveyed supported Lee. In a meeting with emboffs, Choi Hee Boum, Executive Secretary of CCK, stated that the group "prefers" Lee Myung-bak and implied that they will launch a campaign for him after the primary. Meanwhile, Lee continued his rally for support from the Protestant community by visiting the families of the 23 South Korean hostages in Afghanistan on July 23, despite some early criticism toward the hostages for their fervent missionary work. ¶12. (U) Park Geun-hye is popular among Buddhists although she is reputed to be an atheist. When she was younger, however, she reportedly practiced Catholicism and Buddhism; she was baptized as "Juliana" in her college days and also received a Buddhist name in 2005, according to press. Devout Korean Buddhists are predominantly made up of older females who prefer Park over Lee, says Park Hui-seung, Assistant Deputy Director of Planning and Coordination at Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. It helps her popularity that her mother Yuk Young-soo, wife of former President Park Chung-hee, was a devout Buddhist and very popular among Koreans for her image of a serene First Lady, explains Kim Pan-dong at Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. ¶13. (U) Several liberal candidates have associated with liberal, some radical, Christian organizations in their younger days as student activists although they do not emphasize this in their election campaigns. The frontrunner on the liberal side, Sohn Hak-kyu, worked as a Secretary for Human Rights at the liberal Protestant churches' group, National Council of Churches in Korea (KNCC),in the 1960s and 1970s. Sohn's graduate studies at Oxford University in the United Kingdom were funded by a Protestant group, the World Council of Churches. However, his aides currently emphasize Sohn's close relationship with Buddhist leaders. Meanwhile, KNCC also boasts a connection with Lee Hae-chan. During a meeting with us, Reverend Kim Tae-Hyon, Executive Secretary of KNCC, said that Lee Hae-chan has been KNCC's old SIPDIS contact and was coming to KNCC to pay a personal visit to the head of KNCC after our meeting. The visit, however, was not publicized. Han Myung-suk, the former Prime Minister, is a devout Protestant who was imprisoned for her participation in the democratization movement in 1979 during her tenure as the Secretary of the Korean Christian Academy. SIPDIS ¶14. (U) So far, Chung Dong-young is the only Catholic presidential hopeful. However, he does not garner any special support from his fellow Catholics, according to Father Bae Young-ho, Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea (CBCK). Father Bae remarked that Catholics have experienced too much disappointment with Catholic politicians -- such as former President Kim Dae-jung, President Roh and Lee Hoi-chang, the GNP presidential candidate in 1997 and 2002 -- to expect the new candidates to be any different. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶15. (SBU) Koreans tend to be affable toward religion, and different religious communities have coexisted without serious conflicts. Protestants have the most missionary zeal and, therefore, it is not surprising that their numbers have increased at the fastest rate. Also not surprising is their penchant for political activism. This is true for both conservative and liberal Protestants. Surveys show that a surprisingly high percentage of Protestants have voted for a candidate on the basis of their beliefs and increasingly support churches' participation in politics. This is one factor behind former Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak's high popularity. ¶16. (U) This report was drafted by Embassy intern Clara Suong. STANTON