Ryu Sang Tae, former head chaplain at Daegwang High School, has returned his minister's certification and submitted his resignation from employment there. It is truly sad to watch a righteous teacher have to leave the profession after standing in solidarity with student Gang Ui Seok's lonely fight for religious freedom. Ryu's reason for resigning is that the school did not honestly keep its promise to allow students the right to choose whether or not to participate in religious services. The educational foundation that operates the school, Daegwang Hagwon, essentially kicked him out, since it sent him warnings that came close to containing threats he would be harmed. Daegwang Hagwon suffers a major loss by losing Ryu, and the responsibility for that lies entirely with the school for its lack of good faith and self-righteousness.

It was last month when Daegwang Hagwon agreed to stop forcing students to attend worship services and give them the right to choose. The school would inquire as to who would not be attending, and then allow those students to engage in alternative study. However, reports are that the services are being operated as they were before, and citing the need for discussion, the school has yet to begin that alternative study program. "The principle has not changed. Worship won't be free choice, but services will be operated with flexibility," the school has finally explained, but in that statement you read an intention to not be keeping the initial promise.

It is very much against the cause of education to accept a student's demands only to fail to fully implement what was promised. Any school where students cannot make their own choices for fear they are going to suffer consequences cannot be seen as a healthy institution, however noble its founding principles and even if it has an otherwise quality environment. Daegwang Hagwon warned Ryu that he had dealt the school emotional injury by hurting its reputation and causing a needless dispute. All Ryu had said was that the school "has to be true to education, even if it is run by a Christian educational foundation," and that "students shouldn't be seen as goals and means for missions." The right thing for Daegwang Hagwon to do would be to stop the denunciations and engage in serious dialogue with Ryu. Doing so would advance it further towards the religious freedom it had started to turn towards, and make Korean Protestantism, long criticized as exclusivist, receive more love.

The Hankyoreh, 28 October 2004.

[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]