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UNCLAS SEOUL 002269 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KS
SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS FERVOR AMONG KOREAN VOTERS 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶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. 
 
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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 
 
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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 
 
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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. 
 
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¶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. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶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