by JULIE HA
One of the leaders of a conservative Protestant church association resigned Friday, just days after his controversial remarks about the South Korean ferry sinking drew public outcry.
Rev. Cho Kwang-jak, co-vice chairman of the Christian Council of Korea, stepped down from his position, and the council publicly apologized for Cho’s offensive comments about the victims of the April 16 Sewol sinking, one of the worst maritime disasters in South Korean history. On Tuesday, during a council meeting, Cho said that he did not understand why children from poor families, referring to the ferry victims, chose to visit the southern resort island of Jeju instead of going to an inland destination, like Mount Seorak or Bulguk Temple, the Korea Herald reported.
He also complained about how South Koreans are making a big deal out of the ferry tragedy deaths, but only silently mourned the loss of 46 sailors in the Cheonan disaster, involving an attack on the South Korean warship allegedly by North Korea, in 2010, the Herald report said.
Since then, members of the public and from other Christian organizations have strongly criticized the church leader for what some called his “defamatory” remarks.
“He should repent for his mistake of disgracing the entire Korean Christian church with his insulting remarks and have time to reflect on his behavior,” read a statement from an association of Protestant churches in Ansan, where the most of the victims lived and went to school.
Of the estimated 476 on the Sewol, most were high school students from Ansan’s Danwon High School on a school trip from Incheon and bound for Jeju Island, when the ship capsized and sank off the southwestern coast on April 16. Only 172 were rescued, with 288 people confirmed dead and the rest still missing at sea.
Photo via Reuters
