The progressive Christian church and democracy in South Korea

Journal of Church and State, Spring, 1998 by Chang Yun-Shik

In "The Declaration of Social Justice Practice" (9.0 November 1974), the National Conference of Priests for the Realization of Justice stated that poverty and powerlessness were not the result of "individual ineptitudes, but of systemic injustices."(34) In "The Industrial Workers Human Bights Declaration" (10 March 1977), Protestant church leaders announced their resolution and determination to join workers in their struggle for a decent living and in their efforts to recover their three constitutional labor fights: the fight to unionize, the right to bargain collectively with and to take action against management, and the fight to inform the public of union officials' wrongdoing. Church leaders also demanded that both government and individual enterprises abide by the labor laws.(35) The involvement in the labor movement by dissident church leaders was therefore a response to Christ's call--an attempt to restore humanity and to establish a democratic system.(36) The industrial mission thus developed as a grassroots movement, to be carried out under a biblical injunction.

Industrial mission activities by both Protestants and Catholics, in fact, began in the late 1950s with a broad interest in the welfare of the working poor. As the number of urban workers increased with rapid industrialization, however, the mission came to focus more on factory workers suffering from low wages, poor labor conditions, long work hours, high incidents of industrial accidents, no sick leave, minimum holidays, and inhumane treatment by management.(37)

On the Protestant side, the Urban Industrial Mission (UIM) was initiated and carried out by a small number of young clergymen who had just graduated from theological seminary and who established ministries in the industrial areas of Seoul and Inchon. They first gained work experience by working as laborers for periods of time ranging from six months to five years, then assembled workers at the ministry and helped them to form small groups to carry on group activities such as cooking, flower arranging, and studying scripture.(38)

The Catholic counterpart of the UIM, the Catholic Youth Labor Organization (widely known as the JOC), was organized with a much clearer aim of bringing change into the industrial world. The JOC consisted of Catholic workers and also recruited other Catholic workers who were not members. JOC members were trained "to act as individual apostolates, to see, judge, and act within their places of employment."(39)

Both the UIM and the JOC provided educational programs designed to develop workers' consciousness: leadership training for democratic union activities; guidance for union workshop activities; and evening courses on labor ethics, labor law, and labor dispute arbitration. The goal of these activities was to help industrial workers develop an organized capacity to protect their own interests and welfare and to improve their working and living conditions.

Both organizations were also often involved directly in labor conflicts. When a labor conflict broke out, they usually took sides with the striking workers and tried to settle the conflict in the workers' favor. When a company expelled its employees for their involvement in organizing a union, the UIM and the JOC tried to help reinstate the workers by negotiating directly with the company management. When labor disputes broke out, the organizations would represent striking workers in dealings with management and help them to confer with government organizations. They also helped those who resigned from companies after many years of service to receive due compensation. Additionally, they protested to companies that expelled their employees unjustly.