"President Insults to Feel Better, That’s Also a Good Thing"

Church Leaders Invited to Blue House Meeting
"Christianity Plays a Major Role in Inter-Korean Relations"

President Moon Jae-in is speaking at a meeting with leaders of the Korean Protestant Church held at the main building of the Blue House on the 27th.
President Moon urged the church to actively cooperate with the government's quarantine efforts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

President Moon Jae-in said on the 27th regarding the spread of false information related to the resurgence of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), "Fake news that hinders quarantine efforts and causes harm to many citizens cannot be tolerated."

On the afternoon of the same day, President Moon held a meeting with leaders of Korean churches at the Blue House and said, "There are even claims that some churches are the source of fake news, so I hope we can work together on this," according to Blue House spokesperson Kang Min-seok.

In his opening remarks at the meeting, President Moon emphasized non-face-to-face worship services and requested cooperation in quarantine measures from the church side. Although the church representatives stressed religious freedom and expressed that they could not give up worship, creating a somewhat tense atmosphere, the mood in the room softened with a single remark from President Moon.

When President Moon asked for cooperation regarding fake news and said, "It is acceptable to allow criticism of the government or insults toward the president as a form of expression," some attendees burst into laughter.

◆ Moon: "The Christian community plays a significant role in inter-Korean relations... The government will actively support"

While urging the church to cooperate with quarantine measures, President Moon also expressed gratitude for the Christian community's role in inter-Korean relations so far.

President Moon said, "The Christian community has played a significant role in inter-Korean relations," adding, "In situations where (inter-Korean relations) are blocked, they are making great efforts to reopen the path."

He continued, "If government-to-government relations are active, the government can lead and the private sector can follow, but when government cooperation is blocked, the private sector can take the lead to prevent setbacks," expressing hope for continued efforts in the future.

President Moon stated, "The government will actively support inter-Korean cooperation efforts carried out at the church or denomination level," and added, "I ask the church to join the government's efforts as well."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.