Lee Young-hoon, senior pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church, speaks during a press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul in downtown Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Yoido Full Gospel Church
By Baek Byung-yeul
Lee Young-hoon, senior pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church, expressed concerns about the pervasive influence of shamanism in all areas of Korea, warning that society is being engulfed by shamanistic beliefs, and urged the religious community to engage in a spiritual war against it.
"The entire society, including the media and dramas, is being swept away by shamanism. It is time for the religious community to wage a spiritual war against shamanism. I feel a sense of crisis as if shamanism has become the mainstream and established religions have become the minority," the senior pastor of the nation's largest Protestant church said during a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday.
"The church must continue to warn. If society falls into shamanism and is swayed by it, it will not be able to create a healthy society and will instead create a dark one."
He particularly emphasized that the influence of shamanism pervading the political scene is very serious.
"As a Christian, I express my deep regret that one of the key figures in the recent martial law declaration was a shaman," the pastor said. Lee was referring to allegations that Noh Sang-won, the former defense intelligence command chief involved in President Yoon Suk Yeol's Dec. 3 martial law imposition, was deeply immersed in shamanism.
Lee voiced concerns about the political conflict and division arising from the martial law fiasco and emphasized that the religious community should take the lead in national unity.
"I hope that the religious community, including the Christian community, will unite and play a role in solving the biggest challenge of how to integrate this polarized society," he said.
This year marks the 140th anniversary of the introduction of Christianity to Korea by American missionaries such as Henry Appenzeller in 1885. To commemorate this, churches nationwide will hold this year’s Easter celebration together, Lee added.
"This year's Easter has a special meaning. Ninety-nine percent of Korean churches will attend the united Easter service. I want to show that Christianity can unite without division," he said.
Yoido Full Gospel Church also shared its plans to contribute to society this year. Lee said the church will more actively address issues of low birthrate and drug abuse in Korea.
"Our church has provided a total of 61 billion won ($4.2 million) in childbirth encouragement funds from 2012 to last year. We also provided 120 strollers for single parents. This support is indeed encouraging, but it does not provide a fundamental solution. To solve the low birthrate problem, the government needs to address basic living expenses and housing issues," he said.
"Former Gyeonggi Province Gov. Nam Kyung-pil is promoting the establishment of a drug treatment center. Our church will also join and actively support it. Even if drug addicts go to prison, they relapse when they are released. They need to receive proper treatment in hospitals. However, such treatment facilities are severely lacking."
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