Communications on May. 17, 2002
* Church Concerned for Human Rights of Migrant Workers
The Committee for Justice and Peace of the CBCK(President: Most Rev. John Choi Yong-su) resolved at its permanent council meeting held on May 9 to speak out the Catholic position for various problematic social issues, especially for the human rights of migrant workers in Korean society.
The Committee decided to make the best use of the Internet to awake among the faithful the consciousness of life and for the productivity of the Committee's work by opening its homepage on the web including its affiliated Subcommittee for Abolition of Capital Punishment and the Subcommittee for Environment.
The participants in the meeting agreed that the issue of the migrant workers be a pressing topic on the level of Episcopal Conference and eventually on the level of the Church in Korea. As first step, they decided to make due study in order to grasp the real situation of migrant workers in collaboration with the diocesan committees for justice and peace and organizations related to the issue.
In recent years, discrimination against and exploitation of the migrant workers by certain Korean employers have been emerged as a serious human rights issue in Korean society. Many civic and religion groups including Catholic organizations working on their behalf have urged the government to establish an appropriate labor system by which the migrant workers can receive fuller domestic legal protection.
The report of the research by the Korea Labor Institute indicates that at the end of 2001, about 77.4 percent of the total 330,000 migrants in South Korea were overstaying their visas. The research showed that the figure has been steadily increasing since 1993, when there were about 55,000 illegal foreign residents. The number increased to 158,000 in 1997 and to 255,000 in 2001.
With introduction of the industrial trainee system into Korea in 1991 the migrant workers have been defined as 'trainees' and not 'workers'. For this reason the migrant workers have been working for small salary and unable to receive full protection by domestic labor laws. As a result, most of them left their assigned companies for better jobs, running the risk of becoming illegal aliens. Under such conditions, the trainees who became illegal aliens have been highly vulnerable to exploitation, unfair treatment and discrimination.
* New Facts About Thomas Ahn Jung-geun's Last Doings Disclosed to the Public
New facts about Thomas Ahn Jung-geun's last doings in prison were disclosed to the public for the first time by a Korean researcher of Korea-Japan modern history.
News reports that The Pyeonghwa Shinmun obtained from Mr. Augustine Choi Seo-myeon, a Korean researcher of Korea-Japan modern history, describes in detail the last doings in prison of Thomas Ahn Jung-geun, a Catholic and patriot who assassinated Japanese leading invader Ito Hirobumi in Harbin in 1909, by revealing new facts about his last confession and reception of Holy Communion and story of fixing execution date on March 26, 1910.
"Ahn made his last confession by writing the contents of his repentance in 20 pages and on March 10 he attended to Mass that Fr. Wilhelm presided in prison and received Holy Communion," read the news reports. Mr. Augustine Choi Seo-myeon recently acquired them from the daughter of the then Japanese interpreter.
According to the reports, Ahn met Fr. Nicholas Joseph Marie Wilhelm three times from March 8 to 10 before his execution unlike the alleged presumption that he met the priest twice, on March 9 and 10.
The following is the summary of the reports of respective days.
On March 8, Ahn had the first meeting with Rev. Wilhelm at 1:50 p.m. at the Lushun prison, Liaoning, China. Fr. Wilhelm said that he came there to fulfil his duty as a missionary at Ahn's request for last confession and conveyed him the wish of his mother and the faithful in his town not to appeal to the court but resolutely die for the fatherland. Then, Fr. Wilhelm apologized to Ahn for having hit him ten years ago. The meeting lasted for two hours.
On March 9, Ahn met the priest at 2:00 p.m. to have general confession. There also attended the warden, an interpreter, an inspector and a prison guard. Ahn veiled his face with 'Sat-gat', a conical bamboo hat, and confessed for 20 minutes his sins that he had written on 20 sheets of paper the previous night. Before the confession, Fr. Wilhelm asked the attendants to leave the room quoting norms of the canon law, but his request was rejected.
"Now I have nothing to repent more," Ahn said after the confession. Fr. Wilhelm expressed his feeling, "I have never heard so sincere confession as this. Ahn became innocent as a new-born baby through this confession." After watching the confession scene, the Japanese interpreter Sonoki noted, "after the confession, Ahn looked like a totally different person and his face seemed mystical."
On March 10, Fr. Wilhelm offered Mass for Ahn and gave him holy communion. After the Mass, Ahn asked the priest to send him a suit of Korean clothes. Fr. Wilhelm asked Ahn what he is writing. Ahn responded it is Theory of Peace in Asia.
Rev. Wilhelm said to the reporter, "Ahn desires to die on March 25 because it is the day Christ sacrificed himself on the Cross." and added "March 27 is the Easter Sunday, the biggest feast of all Christian Churches in the world, so it doesn't fit for execution date. In Western countries, no country executes prisoners on the Easter."
With regard to this, Mr. Choi explained that Ahn was executed on March 26 because the previous day was the birthday of Korean Emperor Sun-jong and the next day, the Easter Sunday. Until now, the general opinion, as insisted by some Japanese, said that Ahn was executed on March 26 because he assassinated Ito on October 26.
On March 25, the day before execution, Ahn met his two brothers for two hours and left his last will, entrusted them to raise his children in consultation with Fr. Wilhelm. He also asked them to make ceaseless efforts for peace of Asia and independence of Korea. Even then, Ahn showed his firm Catholic faith. While the attendant Japanese lawyer consoled him Ahn responded, "If you become Catholic we will meet again in the heaven."
These news reports written in Japanese, however, do not have titles and issuing date, so more investigation is required. Mr. Choi made assumption that they were published on at least two kinds of newspapers; one is Manchurian Daily and the other, a certain Japanese bulletin.
Dr. Stephen Choi Ki-young, the lead researcher of the Research Institute for Korean Church History, valued the historical significance of the report, saying, "these materials give more concrete evidence that Ahn did not lose deep Catholic faith until the last moment of his life."
The Committee for Justice and Peace of the CBCK(President: Most Rev. John Choi Yong-su) resolved at its permanent council meeting held on May 9 to speak out the Catholic position for various problematic social issues, especially for the human rights of migrant workers in Korean society.
The Committee decided to make the best use of the Internet to awake among the faithful the consciousness of life and for the productivity of the Committee's work by opening its homepage on the web including its affiliated Subcommittee for Abolition of Capital Punishment and the Subcommittee for Environment.
The participants in the meeting agreed that the issue of the migrant workers be a pressing topic on the level of Episcopal Conference and eventually on the level of the Church in Korea. As first step, they decided to make due study in order to grasp the real situation of migrant workers in collaboration with the diocesan committees for justice and peace and organizations related to the issue.
In recent years, discrimination against and exploitation of the migrant workers by certain Korean employers have been emerged as a serious human rights issue in Korean society. Many civic and religion groups including Catholic organizations working on their behalf have urged the government to establish an appropriate labor system by which the migrant workers can receive fuller domestic legal protection.
The report of the research by the Korea Labor Institute indicates that at the end of 2001, about 77.4 percent of the total 330,000 migrants in South Korea were overstaying their visas. The research showed that the figure has been steadily increasing since 1993, when there were about 55,000 illegal foreign residents. The number increased to 158,000 in 1997 and to 255,000 in 2001.
With introduction of the industrial trainee system into Korea in 1991 the migrant workers have been defined as 'trainees' and not 'workers'. For this reason the migrant workers have been working for small salary and unable to receive full protection by domestic labor laws. As a result, most of them left their assigned companies for better jobs, running the risk of becoming illegal aliens. Under such conditions, the trainees who became illegal aliens have been highly vulnerable to exploitation, unfair treatment and discrimination.
* New Facts About Thomas Ahn Jung-geun's Last Doings Disclosed to the Public
New facts about Thomas Ahn Jung-geun's last doings in prison were disclosed to the public for the first time by a Korean researcher of Korea-Japan modern history.
News reports that The Pyeonghwa Shinmun obtained from Mr. Augustine Choi Seo-myeon, a Korean researcher of Korea-Japan modern history, describes in detail the last doings in prison of Thomas Ahn Jung-geun, a Catholic and patriot who assassinated Japanese leading invader Ito Hirobumi in Harbin in 1909, by revealing new facts about his last confession and reception of Holy Communion and story of fixing execution date on March 26, 1910.
"Ahn made his last confession by writing the contents of his repentance in 20 pages and on March 10 he attended to Mass that Fr. Wilhelm presided in prison and received Holy Communion," read the news reports. Mr. Augustine Choi Seo-myeon recently acquired them from the daughter of the then Japanese interpreter.
According to the reports, Ahn met Fr. Nicholas Joseph Marie Wilhelm three times from March 8 to 10 before his execution unlike the alleged presumption that he met the priest twice, on March 9 and 10.
The following is the summary of the reports of respective days.
On March 8, Ahn had the first meeting with Rev. Wilhelm at 1:50 p.m. at the Lushun prison, Liaoning, China. Fr. Wilhelm said that he came there to fulfil his duty as a missionary at Ahn's request for last confession and conveyed him the wish of his mother and the faithful in his town not to appeal to the court but resolutely die for the fatherland. Then, Fr. Wilhelm apologized to Ahn for having hit him ten years ago. The meeting lasted for two hours.
On March 9, Ahn met the priest at 2:00 p.m. to have general confession. There also attended the warden, an interpreter, an inspector and a prison guard. Ahn veiled his face with 'Sat-gat', a conical bamboo hat, and confessed for 20 minutes his sins that he had written on 20 sheets of paper the previous night. Before the confession, Fr. Wilhelm asked the attendants to leave the room quoting norms of the canon law, but his request was rejected.
"Now I have nothing to repent more," Ahn said after the confession. Fr. Wilhelm expressed his feeling, "I have never heard so sincere confession as this. Ahn became innocent as a new-born baby through this confession." After watching the confession scene, the Japanese interpreter Sonoki noted, "after the confession, Ahn looked like a totally different person and his face seemed mystical."
On March 10, Fr. Wilhelm offered Mass for Ahn and gave him holy communion. After the Mass, Ahn asked the priest to send him a suit of Korean clothes. Fr. Wilhelm asked Ahn what he is writing. Ahn responded it is Theory of Peace in Asia.
Rev. Wilhelm said to the reporter, "Ahn desires to die on March 25 because it is the day Christ sacrificed himself on the Cross." and added "March 27 is the Easter Sunday, the biggest feast of all Christian Churches in the world, so it doesn't fit for execution date. In Western countries, no country executes prisoners on the Easter."
With regard to this, Mr. Choi explained that Ahn was executed on March 26 because the previous day was the birthday of Korean Emperor Sun-jong and the next day, the Easter Sunday. Until now, the general opinion, as insisted by some Japanese, said that Ahn was executed on March 26 because he assassinated Ito on October 26.
On March 25, the day before execution, Ahn met his two brothers for two hours and left his last will, entrusted them to raise his children in consultation with Fr. Wilhelm. He also asked them to make ceaseless efforts for peace of Asia and independence of Korea. Even then, Ahn showed his firm Catholic faith. While the attendant Japanese lawyer consoled him Ahn responded, "If you become Catholic we will meet again in the heaven."
These news reports written in Japanese, however, do not have titles and issuing date, so more investigation is required. Mr. Choi made assumption that they were published on at least two kinds of newspapers; one is Manchurian Daily and the other, a certain Japanese bulletin.
Dr. Stephen Choi Ki-young, the lead researcher of the Research Institute for Korean Church History, valued the historical significance of the report, saying, "these materials give more concrete evidence that Ahn did not lose deep Catholic faith until the last moment of his life."