Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK) Campaign for a Peace Treaty in the Korean Peninsula
Dear Friends in
Ecumenical Organizations and Partner Churches,
Warmest greetings
of peace!
Peace should
neither be an aberration from what the people believe it to be, nor a
fabrication of those whose interests is the continued enmity within a nation or
between nations. The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK) pursues
peace inspired by the God peace and grounded in the person of Jesus Christ, the
prince of peace.
Contemporary
history unfolded with so much violence inflicted on people and communities and
the Korean nation is one of the most affected by the consequences of war. At
this historical juncture, the church has to assert its vision and mission of
peace. The PROK believes in Christ’s peace mission “…to give light to those who
sit in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace…” (Luke
1:79). This affirmation is the means by which the Korean nation with the
solidarity of peace loving nations and churches around the world can work
together for genuine and lasting peace in the Korean Peninsula.
This year the
Korean people commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Korean War
which broke out in 1950 and most of us, especially the church do not want to
experience a repeat of the tragic experience and suffer the devastating effects
of war. The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK) has been urging
the signatory governments to repeal the 1953 Armistice Agreement and replace it
with a Peace Treaty that will ensure peace and security in the Peninsula. The Peace Treaty should substantiate the
June 15, 2000 and
the October 4, 2007
North-South Joint Declarations signed by the leaders of the two
Koreas. The replacement of the
Armistice Agreement with a Peace Treaty will de-escalate the threats of imminent
conflict between North and South Korea and would ensure peace and
security not only in Northeast Asia but the
whole world.
In this regard, we
encourage our churches to actively participate in the gathering of signatures
for making of a Peace Treaty. In like manner, we would like to request United
Nations, overseas partners and ecumenical network to make their contribution by
participating in the signature campaign in the hope that a Peace Treaty is
realized in our lifetime.
CLICK HERE to download the signature campaign document which you may use in gathering signatures. The PROK has targeted one million signatures. As of date we already
gathered more than 12,000 signatures. Please use this material and if you need
to translate this into your own language don’t hesitate to do so. Filled-out
signature campaign forms should be sent back to the PROK general assembly office
either through post mail or email using the following
addresses:
The
Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea
(PROK)
Academy House, San
76, Insu-dong
Kangbuk-gu, Seoul,
Korea
142-714
Email address: prok3000@chol.com
The signatures
gathered will be published in the national dailies and copies will be submitted
to the government’s Ministry of Unification and to leaders of governments
involved in the peace negotiations and the making of a Peace Treaty in the
Korean Peninsula. Thank you so much for your participation and solidarity with
the Korean nation.
In the service of
Christ’s peace mission,
REV.
BAE TAE-JIN
General
Secretary
The Presbyterian
Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK)