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 KoreanPeninsula.
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.
We have attached herewith 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)
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)
