National Council of Churches in Korea Stands with Baltimore for Justice
The National Council of Churches in Korea statement of solidarity with justice-seeking people of the United States
The wolf will live with the lamb; the leopard will lie down with the young goat.
They will neither harm nor destroy on my holy mountain (Isaiah 11: 6, 9)
As we hear that once again inappropriate, violent police action has led to the death of Freddie Grey and the civil unrest in Baltimore, the National Council of Churches in Korea grieves the death of innocent people, especially people of color and wishes to express their solidarity in standing with people who seek a peaceful and just outcome to this situation.
Last summer, on the occasion of the death of Michael Brown, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA published a statement saying, “This year is the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act and we are still seeking an America where young men of color are neither disproportionately imprisoned nor are victims of violence.”
The US Civil Rights movement was a significant inspiration for the Korean movement for democracy in the 70s and 80’s. And yet, still today, here as well as in America, we are familiar with frustration when people do not trust the outcome of investigations into wrongdoing on the part of authorities. Two weeks ago this same frustration led to demonstrations in Seoul by citizens and the families of the victims of the SEWOL Ferry, and the police here, as in Baltimore, responded with tear gas and water cannons.
We feel empathy with those who cry out for justice. We wait with longing for the vision of Isaiah 11 to come about, when the weak and the strong live together in peace without harm or destruction. We pray as well that all people engage the situation with non-violence and the healing power of God. Even more so we pray with you that justice is upheld and discriminatory systems are transformed.
April 30, 2015
Rev. Kim Young-ju
General Secretary
National Council of Church in Korea