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Protestants plan passports protest

Protestants plan passports protest
Published: July 13, 2011 09:11 AM GMT
Updated: July 14, 2011 03:17 AM GMT

Proposed revisions to the Passport Act infringe on constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, said a Protestant association in a letter of protest . The Christian Council of Korea, the largest Protestant association in the country, sent the letter yesterday to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade saying the revisions would limit local Protestants’ overseas missions. The revisions include restrictions on the issuance or reissuance of a passport for between one and three years for anyone who damages national dignity by being convicted of illegal actions in other countries, said the letter. The CCK also urged its members, representing 66 denominations and 19 organizations, to join its campaign against the revisions, which are expected to be submitted for Cabinet approval next month. Choi Sung-ju, a public relations officer with the CCK, said the move amounted to infringement of the constitutional freedom of movement, which “harms not only Protestant missioners but all the nation.” He admitted that local Protestants take an aggressive approach toward other religions, which might be deemed offensive to others, but that the issue was a matter to be dealt with by Protestant organizations and not the government. Twenty-three Korean Protestant missioners in 2007, all from the Saemmul Community Church, were taken hostage by Taliban rebels during short-term mission work in Afghanistan. Among the seven men and 16 women abducted, two men were killed while the rest of the group were freed. The Korea World Missions Association earlier this week added its voice to protests over the proposed revisions, saying the changes could also affect the work of NGOs conducting humanitarian missions overseas. The Catholic Church in Korea has yet to weigh in on the controversy, according to Peter Kim Young-sun, coordinator of the Korean Catholic Bishops’ Committee for the Pastoral Care of Overseas Koreans.

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