{"id":139340,"date":"2026-02-03T04:15:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T01:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/?p=139340"},"modified":"2026-02-03T04:15:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T01:15:04","slug":"news-from-the-coalition-for-democracy-and-religious-freedom-cdfr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/?p=139340","title":{"rendered":"News from the Coalition for Democracy and Religious Freedom (CDFR)"},"content":{"rendered":"

hSeoul, South Korea<\/a><\/p>\n

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Seoul, South Korea \u2013 New York \u2013 Rashad Alkhader<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Civil Coalition Issues Statement at Joint Press Conference, Warning Government Remarks on Specific Religions Risk Promoting Hatred and Abuse of State Power<\/span><\/p>\n

Joint Press Conference Raises Concerns Over Religious Freedom and State Neutrality in South Korea<\/p>\n

Seoul, South Korea \u2014 January 23, the Coalition for Democracy and Freedom of Religion (CDFR), a civil society alliance, held a joint press conference in front of the Blue House fountain in Seoul, releasing a statement criticizing recent remarks and investigative directives issued by senior government officials.
\nThrough the press conference, the Coalition officially announced its launch and stated that \u201cstate-level stigmatization and pressure targeting specific religions raise serious concerns about undermining the freedom of religion and the constitutional principle of separation of religion and state.\u201d CDFR is a coalition composed of civic, religious, and social organizations in South Korea, with participation from a broad range of figures including religious figures representing Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, as well as legal professionals, university professors, and leaders of civil society organizations.
\nThe event, titled \u201cJoint Press Conference for the Protection of Constitutionally Guaranteed Freedom of Religion,\u201d drew approximately 100 participants and featured the reading of a joint statement followed by keynote presentations from the Coalition\u2019s co-representatives. The statement was read by Ven. Beop San, the executive chief of the Jogye Order of Daegak Buddhism and a co-representative of the Coalition. This was followed by presentations from four speakers representing Buddhist, Christian, and Islamic communities, as well as civil society, who addressed the potential impact of government labeling specific religions on constitutional order and democratic principles.
\nIn its statement, the Coalition cited Article 20 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, which guarantees freedom of religion and mandates the separation of church and state, as well as Article 10 (human dignity) and Article 11 (equality before the law). The Coalition argued that repeated official references to certain religions as \u201cpseudo-religious,\u201d \u201cheretical,\u201d or \u201charmful\u201d risk creating tension with the principles of religious neutrality and non-discrimination required in a democratic society.
\nThe statement was prepared following a January 12, 2026 luncheon meeting between President Lee Jae-myung and religious leaders, during which, according to the Blue House Spokesperson Kang Yoo-jeong briefing, the President expressed agreement with remarks by some religious leaders stating that \u201cthe damage caused by pseudo-religious and cult groups such as the Unification Church and Shincheonji is severe,\u201d adding that \u201cthe harm has grown because it has been left unchecked for too long in our society.\u201d
\nThe following day, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, during a Cabinet meeting, described the Unification Church and Shincheonji as \u201csocial evils that must be eradicated,\u201d ordering a comprehensive, government-wide joint investigation and response. These remarks were cited by the Coalition as representative examples of the issue at hand.
\nAt the press conference, the Coalition stated that \u201cregardless of whether criminal allegations are under investigation, the practice of senior government officials broadly defining specific religious groups in negative terms risks undermining the state\u2019s obligation of religious neutrality.\u201d It further argued that the progression from opinions raised at a religious leaders\u2019 meeting to strong language delivered at a Cabinet meeting could lead to misunderstandings regarding the constitutional principle of separation of church and state. Some observers have also noted that, despite certain religious organizations\u2019 documented participation in volunteer work, blood donation campaigns, and other forms of social engagement, they have been subject to sweeping negative characterizations without the presentation of specific criminal findings.
\nEmphasizing that South Korea is a state party to the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Coalition stated that \u201crecent government responses warrant careful examination as to whether they align with international human rights standards.\u201d The Coalition called on the United Nations (UN), and organizations dedicated to freedom of religion or belief, democracy, and human rights worldwide to conduct independent reviews and issue official statements, including recommendations, regarding whether the current situation in South Korea complies with constitutional values and international norms.
\nIn closing, the Coalition urged the government to cease all actions that incite hatred toward particular religious groups and that wrongfully wield state power; issue a public apology for discriminatory remarks made by the President and Prime Minister and pledge to prevent any recurrence; and establish communication frameworks that ensure equal respect for all religions and beliefs. \u201cFreedom of religion is not an issue concerning a single group,\u201d the Coalition emphasized, \u201cbut a fundamental standard for the entire democratic society.\u201d<\/p>\n

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hSeoul, South Korea Seoul, South Korea \u2013 New York \u2013 Rashad Alkhader   Civil Coalition Issues Statement at Joint Press Conference, Warning Government Remarks on Specific Religions Risk Promoting Hatred and Abuse of State Power Joint Press Conference Raises Concerns Over Religious Freedom and State Neutrality in South Korea Seoul, South Korea \u2014 January 23, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":139341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-139340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diverse-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=139340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/139341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=139340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=139340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=139340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}