The Truth
About Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery
1
The 100th Anniversary Memorial Church was established by the Foundation in order to preserve “Yanghwajin” as a holy landmark for the Protestant Faith.
The truth about Yanghwajin Foreigners’ Cemetery in the early 2000s
In the early 2000s, the environment surrounding the Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery (the “Cemetery”; then called the Yanghwajin Foreigners’ Cemetery) changed rapidly. The Asian financial crisis led to strong anti-Americanism, and Seoul Union Church suffered as its congregation dwindled. In April, Pastor Han Kyong Jik, a pillar of the Korean Protestant community, passed away. He was the first chairman of the board of the Foundation for the 100th Anniversary of the Korean Church (the “Foundation”; formerly, the Council for the 100th Anniversary of the Korean Church) which holds title to the Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery. Afterwards, donations and offerings from various churches dropped sharply, and the Foundation was forced to reduce funding to Seoul Union Church, which was responsible for the maintenance of the Cemetery.
During the decades preceding and following the year 2000, the Catholic shrine Jeoldusan became an official historical landmark (Yanghwanaru Jamdubong site) (1997), Yanghwajin Sacred Park was completed (2005), and other significant changes and developments occurred in and around Yanghwajin area. But in contrast, Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery became even more rundown. At last, the press began to report on the sad state of the place, which was falling into ruins; and articles deploring the abandoned state of the site and expressions of regret from the Christian community started to appear. While the desolation of the Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery had drawn concerned voices from time to time before the year 2000, mostly from the Christian press, these voices grew louder and more numerous after 2000.
At the time, the Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery faced three broad issues: first, the area was becoming more rundown due to the lack of any meaningful maintenance; second, private money-making activities were taking place under the excuse of guided tours at one of the most prominent holy landmark for Korean Christianity; and third, even though the site was a park located in an urban residential area and was thus banned from being used as a burial site, illegal burials continued to take place at the Cemetery in open breach of applicable law. During this period, PCK World (Hanguk Gidok Gongbo), the official publication of the Korean Presbyterian Church (PCK), carried the most number of articles that pointed out the substandard maintenance of the Cemetery and voiced concerns about its further dilapidation. The following are excerpts.
The regrettable fact is that even though [Yanghwajin] is a rare Christian holy landmark located in the middle of metropolitan Seoul, it feels abandoned, as if no one is taking care of it at all. The grass is uncared for with weeds filling up the lot, and it was impossible to find any trace of caretaking for the tombstones. (Kim Sung-Soon, reader, “After a tour of Jeoldusan” Korean Christian Weekly, 2001. 1. 6.)
Thinking of Yanghwajin, the lonely cemetery where no one visits or looks after even at Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) … Yanghwajin cemetery abandoned without anyone caring for it. It is a disgrace to the Korean Church. It is imperative that we should rectify the indifference and lack of care by the Korean Church of those who gave their lives while spreading the gospel to us. (Kim In-Soo/Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Professor of Theological History, ‘Chuseok and Yanghwajin,’ Korean Christian Weekly, ‘Weekly Op-Ed’, 2001. 10. 20.)
The reality of the [Yanghwajin cemetery] can be described without exaggeration as “abandonment,” like some untold fact of history. … It contrasts sharply with “Jeoldusan Martyrs’ Museum” which has become a Catholic holy site. … (Kim Bo-Hyun/Korean Christian Weekly reporter, ‘Special Feature - Yanghwajin Foreign Missionaries’ Cemetery’, Korean Christian Weekly, 2003. 8. 16.)
How, one wonders, is it possible to maintain it with such absence of care? Getting off the subway, one finds that the signs are all wrong. The way there is filled with the stench of refuse. Isn’t it an insult to their achievements or what they had willed to achieve to leave their graves—the graves of those who have died for this country- in this condition? (Kim Hyun-Ju/Citizen, Seoul City One-Click Electronic Civil Complaints, 2005. 5. 20./Lee Jun-Beom (Mapo-Gu District Office, Administrative Official), Clicking One’s Way to the Administrative Agency, citation from p. 122(2009. 1.))
Given this situation, the Foundation decided that in order to halt the dilapidation of the Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery and preserve it as a holy landmark of the Korean Church, the site could not be left solely in the care of Seoul Union Church. The Foundation asked five representative churches of the Korean Protestant faith (Saemoonan Presbyterian Church, Youngnak Presbyterian Church, Chungdong First Methodist Church, Onnuri Community Church, Yoido Full Gospel Church) to take on the operation and the management the Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery and the Yongin Korean Christian Martyrs’ Memorial, but all refused.
The 100th Anniversary Memorial Church established to enshrine Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery as a holy landmark
Finally, on September 30, 2003, the Foundation, under the leadership of Pastor Kang Won Yong, convened an extraordinary board meeting and voted to establish a church (100th Anniversary Memorial Church) that would be responsible for the management and care of Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery and the Yongin Korean Christian Martyrs’ Memorial. Such action was taken as a way to meet the tasks entrusted to the Foundation: the enshrinement and the preservation of these places. Among a total of 14 board members, 11 were present (1 substitute member included) and a unanimous vote was carried for the establishment of a new church.
After the vote to establish the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church (the “Church”), the most important task facing the Foundation was to find a pastor for the new church. The board members prayed over this for a long time, and at the 21st regular board meeting convened on April 18, 2005, five members of the preparation committee were selected and were given authority to carry out the task of setting up the church, including the selection of its lead pastor and the location of the church. On this date, 12 board members were present (1 substitute and 1 delegate member included) and voted to approve the selection of Pastor Lee Jae Chul of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK) as the lead pastor. The board chairman Kang Won Yong, the board vice-chairman Jeong Jin Kyeong, the board standing director Kang Byeon Hun, a board member Choi Chang Geun, and the board secretary general, Kim Gyeong Lae were selected as the members of the Church Establishment Committee.
Immediately after the board meeting, the members convened a meeting and adopted the “100th Anniversary Memorial Church Management Policy.” The first clause of the policy states “we aim to be a ‘united church’ that will work for the gospel, mission, relief efforts, discipleship and patriotism in memory of the benefactors of faith who are asleep at Yanghwajin.” Because of the special nature of the Foundation, i.e., an institution established for ecumenical works, it was decided that the Church would be founded as an ecumenical church, transcending denominations. It is clear that from the very beginning, the Church sought to be an “independent church” and an “nondenominational, united church” which would not be associated with a particular denomination. After its establishment, the Church became a member of Korean Association of Independent Churches and Missions in accordance with its management policy for the purpose of its administration.
The members of the Foundation sought out Pastor Lee Jae Chul, who had been recommended to the board as the prospective lead pastor, and asked him to take on the position. At first, Pastor Lee Jae Chul declined the invitation on the grounds that he had, after returning from his mission work in Geneva, decided not to pastor a church but focus on youth ministry and documentary mission work. But the members visited Pastor Lee Jae Chul again and emphasized that they had prayed together for many months for a new pastor, and strongly pressed him to accept the position of the lead pastor. After two successive visits, Pastor Lee Jae Chul accepted the invitation to serve as the lead pastor of the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church.
The consecration worship service of the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church was held on July 10, 2005, 3 p.m. at the second floor of the Mission Memorial Hall under the sponsorship of the Foundation. The names of those who led the consecration service are as follows:
Officiator: Pastor Kang Byeon Hun (Korean Methodist Church)
Prayer: Elder Choi Chang Geun (Presbyterian Church of Korea)
Scripture Reading: Elder Lim Jeong San (Presbyterian Church of Korea)
Sermon: Pastor Kang Won Yong (Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea)
Progress Report: Elder Kim Gyeong Lae (Kosin Presbyterian Church in Korea)
Praise: Professor Lim Chang Hwa (Cheonan University)
Congratulatory Address: Pastor Prince Charles Oteng-Boateng (Seoul Union Church), Exhorter Park Hong Seob (Head of Mapo-Gu District Office)
Offering Prayer: Pastor Kim Hae Chul (Lutheran Church in Korea)
Inaugural Prayer: Pastor Jeong Jin Gyeong (Korea Evangelical Holiness Church)
Benediction: Pastor Bang Ji Il (Presbyterian Church of Korea)
In this way, the Foundation sought to establish 100th Anniversary Memory Church in accordance with God’s plan and guidance. The Church was founded first to facilitate the enshrinement of Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery as a holy landmark and care for the Korean Christian Martyrs’ Memorial; and second, to develop a vision for Korean Christian mission for its bicentennial. Each time the Foundation was faced with an important decision, whether it concerned the establishment of the Church, the selection of its lead pastor or the consecration worship, the decision was discussed among its board members, who consisted of leaders from different denominations. All denominations participated and took turns in taking a part in these proceedings. Further, at the time, Pastor Lee Jae Chul was formally dispatched to 100th Anniversary Memorial Church by the Seoul Western Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Moderator, Pastor Woo Young Su) as a mission pastor. These, then, are the reasons that no one can claim that the 100th Anniversary Church is a “just another church” unconnected to Yanghwajin.
Management policies of Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery after the establishment of the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church
The single most important reason that the Foundation established the Church was to care for Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery in a manner deserving of a holy landmark for Korean Protestant faith and permanently preserve it as such. In order to do so, the Foundation and the Church undertook to clearly define the identity of the Cemetery as a holy landmark, refurbished the Cemetery at considerable costs so that it would be in a condition worthy of its status, and adopted clear management policies needed to maintain and preserve the Cemetery as a permanent holy landmark. Central to its management policies was the concept that basic principles must be respected at all costs in order to maintain the site in a manner befitting of a holy landmark for the Protestant faith. Above all, it was necessary to ensure that in the Cemetery, even the smallest detail would be in accordance with the laws and rules of this country.
As a way to further establish the identity of the Cemetery, the site was named as “Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery” after consultation with the responsible local government authority, Mapo-gu District Office. A free guided tour system operated by volunteers was implemented to put a stop to private interest seeking activities that certain organizations had carried on at the site and to make visitations to the site more orderly and beneficial to the Cemetery’s preservation. In addition, the Foundation made efforts to stop the illegal burials being carried out in the Cemetery by Seoul Union Church. Although these burials were not permitted by law, they had become a customary practice under Seoul Union Church’s care of the Cemetery. In the Foundation’s view, a continuation of such activities would only be possible if one were ignorant of Korean laws and Korean funeral practices or had a sense of privileged entitlement that put oneself above the law.
In the face of such efforts, certain organizations and churches that wanted to hold on to their past entitlements and Seoul Union Church, which had used fees generated from illegal burials within the Cemetery for the Cemetery’s maintenance, refused to cooperate. Small and large disagreements and conflicts emerged over these courses of events. However, the Foundation and 100th Anniversary Memorial Church made every effort to observe the law and basic legal principles necessary to ensure the status of Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery as a holy landmark. As a result, illegal selling of burial plots, which had been carried out for years, stopped. Various personal memorials erected for individuals and which bore no relation to Yanghwajin were taken down. The Cemetery, at last, took on shape as the holy landmark that represents Protestant faith in Korea. Some have criticized the Foundation and the management policies of 100th Anniversary Memorial Church as being unilateral and dogmatic. However, we believe that such perspective misses the larger reality: that without insistence on adhering to sound and fundamental principles, such as observance of law, the very future and preservation of the Cemetery cannot be guaranteed. Any position that would promote a compromise with such principles willfully ignores such truth.
The Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK) asserts that Yanghwajin is a legacy shared by all Korean Churches and is a holy landmark for the Korean Protestant faith. Yet at the same time, it also insists with Peter Underwood and John Linton (In Yohan) that the place should be called “Yanghwajin Foreigners’ Cemetery.” Such assertions, however, can only be understood as arguments put forward solely to obstruct the Foundation and 100th Anniversary Church’s efforts to preserve Yanghwajin as a true holy landmark for the Korean Protestant faith. As described above, Pastor Han Kyung Jik, the first chairman of the board of the Foundation, and other leaders of the Korean Church accepted the transfer of title to this site in early 1980s and built the Mission Memorial Hall here to enshrine and preserve this place, where the missionaries who first brought gospel to Korea are buried, as a holy landmark for the Korean Church. It is in recognition of such goal and vision that 100th Anniversary Memorial Church makes priority allocation of one half of all offerings made by its members to the upkeep and maintenance of the grounds of the Cemetery. Such allocations are not made to manage a place which is simply a cemetery for foreigners.
Currently at Yanghwajin, altogether 417 persons are buried at the Cemetery. Among them, 145 are missionaries and related persons. It is therefore true that there are more non-missionary foreigners who are buried at Yanghwajin than foreign missionaries. A number of these non-missionaries are U.S. military personnel and their families and includes some who are free masons. It should be noted that these persons were buried at Yanghwajin for a fee while Seoul Union Church was in charge of the maintenance of the Cemetery. Additionally, among the non-missionaries who are buried at Yanghwajin, it is a fact that only a very few are recognized as having made historic contributions during the time of modernization of Korea. If Yanghwajin had failed to establish its identity as the place where “many missionaries who brought the gospel to Korea” are resting, and remained simply as a “foreigners’ cemetery,” the Cemetery would have been relocated long ago due to petitions of local residents who have general aversion to cemeteries. Therefore, to acknowledge that the Cemetery is a “holy place for Korean Church” but to insist that it be called “Yanghwajin Foreigners Cemetery,” as Seoul Union Church, Peter Underwood, John Linton (In Yohan) and some members of the Presbyterian Church (PCK) have done, is to straddle irreconcilable positions. Without the clear identity and public perception of the Cemetery as the burial place of missionaries who made significant contributions to Korean Church and to modernization of Korea, it is not at all clear that the Cemetery would have survived and the most significant landmark for Korean Protestant faith, not lost .
If Seoul Union Church had even a modicum of awareness that Yanghwajin is a holy landmark for Korean Protestant faith, Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery would have come to look very different today. But this was not the case with Seoul Union Church, and this was the reality back then. Under the public perception that this was a “mere cemetery for foreigners,” the Cemetery, for a considerable period of time, became embroiled in a continuing controversy as to whether it should be moved or be shut down altogether. And its deterioration accelerated.
It was only in the year 2000 and thereafter that the opinion was formed within Korean Church that this place should be properly maintained and preserved. It was in light of such consensus that the Foundation came to implement the project to memorialize Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery as a holy landmark. It is the unshakable principle and belief of the Foundation that in order to hold up Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery as the “legacy of the Korean Church and the holy landmark of the Protestant faith” and to permanently preserve it for posterity, it is imperative that its identity grounded on Christianity be made even more clear and its maintenance principles be upheld even more diligently.
2
The claims of Peter Underwood and John Linton (In Yohan), i.e., the claims of Kyungsung European American Cemetery Association (KSEACA) and Seoul Union Church have all been denied by the Supreme Court of Korea.
Criminal charges engendered by Peter Underwood and John Linton (In Yohan) have all been dismissed
During the latter half of 2007, Peter Underwood (Underwood 4th), together with John Linton (In Yohan) hurriedly revived then defunct Kyungsung European American Cemetery Association (KEACA) (the “Association”) (Representative: Peter Underwood/ Secretary: John Linton (In Yohan)). As representatives of the association, they filed a criminal complaint against the Foundation and the leaders of the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church. More specifically, in August of 2007, they brought a criminal complaint against Pastor Lee Jae Chul for damaging the reputation of deceased (petitioner: Peter Underwood). In December of that year, they filed another complaint against the Foundation and 100th Anniversary Memorial Church for violating the “Act Concerning the City Park and Green Areas” (petitioner: Kyungsung European American Cemetery Association (representative: Peter Underwood)) and engaging in “criminal interference with operations of Seoul Union Church and Kyungsung European American Cemetery Association” (petitioner: Seoul Union Church (representative: Pastor Prince Charles Oteng-Boateng)) and Kyungsung European American Cemetery Association (representative: Peter Underwood )).
Among such complaints, Seoul Regional Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the charge regarding the violation of the “Act Concerning the City Park and Green Areas,” on the ground of lack of evidence. The charge concerning the damaging the reputation of the deceased was also dismissed by Seoul Western District Court. As for the charge that the Foundation and the Church engaged in “criminal interference with operations,” Seoul Union Church went so far as to petition the court to review the prosecutor’s office’s refusal to bring the charge against the Foundation and the Church. However, that case, too, was finally dismissed by Seoul High Court. With such dismissals, all crimination proceeding against the Foundation and the Church ended, and it was proven as a matter of law that the Foundation and the Church were innocent of any wrong doing. In particular, Seoul Union Church’s claim that it was “forced out” by 100th Anniversary Memorial Church was founded to be simply false through the proceeding concerning “criminal interference with operations of Seoul Union Church and the Association.”
The Association, in addition to filing criminal complaints, filed civil petitions with Mapo-gu District Office and the Office of the Prime Minister (petitioner: John Linton (In Yohan)) in September of 2007, but these petitions were also dismissed. The Office of the Prime Minister, at the time, concluded that the petition could not be accepted based on its investigation of the site and legal review. This was notified to the petitioner. In summary, the Office of Prime Minister reached the following conclusions after its investigation of the site and legal review:
First, the legal title to Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery became validly vested in the Foundation through a legitimate donation and proper legal procedures, including court judgment affirming the transfer and the registration of title.
Second, the petition to permit the Mission Memorial Hall to be used for church activities cannot be granted given existing law and the administrative decision of the local authority which has jurisdiction over the matter.
Third, the petition to allow additional burials of foreigners at Yanghwajin Foreigner Cemetery cannot be granted given that the place is currently a park and not a cemetery, and the area is a restricted zone for cemeteries under the laws concerning funerals. Therefore, burials are not possible.
Civil case concerning title: the Foundation wins after 4 years
Peter Underwood, as the representative of the Association, brought a civil mediation proceeding concerning “nullification of title registration” of Yanghwajin in December of 2008. He brought this proceeding when all of the criminal complaints became dismissed. The case went through a year and 4 months of mediation, and the court proceeding began in April of 2010. The proceeding went through the District Court, the High Court and the Supreme Court and ended with a loss for the Association on February 28, 2013, after 4 years and 2 months. During the three separate criminal proceedings and three stages of civil proceeding, not one of the claims made by the Association, including those of Peter Underwood, was accepted by the court.
Kyungsung European American Cemetery Association (KEACA) essentially made five core arguments in the case concerning “Yanghwajin Title Registration Nullification,” and none were accepted by the Supreme Court. The following is a summary of the claims made by the Association and the Supreme Court’s judgment regarding such claims:
First, Peter Underwood asserted that Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery was placed under a nominal trust. In the complaint, he in particular alleged that “although the plaintiff (the former Kyungsung European American Cemetery Association (Representative at the time, Underwood III)) did not have legal title to the land but merely a use right, it colluded with the defendant (the Foundation: Representative at the time, the board chairman, Pastor Han Kyung Jik) to obtain a judgment of constructive confession of title and effected the title registration of the land in favor of the Foundation. In other words, the initial title registration and the title transfer registrations were carried out by persons without authority and constituted actions that harm the society and are invalid.” Mr. Underwood did not hesitate to allege that the bequeathing of Yanghwajin, agreed between the relevant persons who were no one other than his own father and Pastor Han Kyung Jik, amounted to an anti-social legal act committed by “non-authorized persons” in “collusion.” The Supreme Court [saw no reason to reconsider the issue of whether the donation had been property made, an issue which had already been deliberated by the lower court in favor of the Foundation, and] ruled that based on the evidence submitted by the plaintiff alone, the Court is unable to find that the Foundation vested Seoul Union church with perpetual and exclusive right to use and maintain the land of Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery and the Mission Memorial Hall. The Court also ruled that even if such rights were granted, the termination of such rights is not sufficient to lead to the conclusion that the contract by which the land was bequeathed to the Foundation is also terminated, and there was no evidence to hold otherwise.
Second, Peter Underwood argued that the bequeathing of the land in 1985 was a “conditional donation” which was conditioned on the donor being able to freely use and manage the property, including visitations to the Cemetery and worship at the Mission Memorial Hall. He argued that the Foundation failed to uphold such conditions, and therefore, the bequeathing became invalid. However, the Supreme Court ruled that there was no ground to view that the Association had made a conditional donation. The Court further held that even if the representative of the Association had breached the resolution of its members and effected an unconditional donation at the time, “there was no evidence that the Foundation knew or could have known such fact. Further, Peter Underwood’s claim cannot be accepted since it impinges on the existing judicial precedent set by the lower court’s judgment concerning Yanghwajin’s title transfer registration.”
Third, Peter Underwood demanded that the bequeathing of Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery be “nullified” because Peter Underwood III, the then representative of the Association, acted on his own without the resolution of the meeting of the members of the Association, and therefore, was invalid. In making such a demand, Peter Underwood in effect admitted that the proceeding, which had dragged on for 4 years, was a faulty proceeding which failed to satisfy basic requirements for a legal action. In fact, the Association at first claimed title to all of Yanghwajin land and the Mission Memorial Hall, but it later amended its initial claim and demanded title to one-half of the properties; and further still, it ended up changing its claim yet again to assert that these properties were public properties. The Supreme Court held that there was no need to consider the argument that the donation is invalid because its members did not meet to approve it because such assertion was not made at all prior to the appeal.
Fourth, Peter Underwood argued that Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery amounted to a “concealed public land” and therefore, the Foundation should be ordered to hand over the property to the government. This argument was made so that if the Association, which had been reconvened by them, could not take title to the property, the Foundation would also be forced to give up its title to the government. Regarding such claim, the Supreme Court held that the matter of title to Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery had already been settled by a judgment of a competent court and was not a subject of judicial review.
Fifth, Peter Underwood argued that even if the title to the Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery belongs to the Foundation, it was evident that that the Foundation had agreed to manage and perpetually preserve the cemetery as a foreigners’ cemetery park and to pay tribute to the missionaries’ contributions by constructing the Mission Memorial Hall. In addition, he argued that the fact that Seoul Union Church had been using the Mission Memorial Hall for the past 20 years was a proof that the Foundation had renounced its rights to use and benefit from the Mission Memorial Hall and transferred those rights to Seoul Union Church on exclusive basis. Thus, the titles to Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery and the Mission Memorial Hall should be yielded to them. To this, the Supreme Court held that that there is no evidence to prove that the Foundation has permanently given up the rights to use and benefit from Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery and the Mission Memorial Hall.
Refusal, even to an exceptional mediation plan
During the trial proceedings, the Foundation and the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church believed that in order to settle the issue regarding the ownership to the Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery for once and for all, a clear decision from the Court was necessary. Therefore, it was not the wish of the Foundation to enter into a mediation agreement that could prove to be only an interim measure. However, given continued recommendation of the Court, the Foundation agreed to mediation and tried its best to come up with an amicable resolution, not only with the Association, but also with Seoul Union Church. Even when the representatives of the Association, the so-called “descendants of the missionaries” went so far as to press “criminal charges” multiple times against the church leaders who had dedicated their entire lives to leading the Korean Church, who served as the presidents and representatives of leading denominations and many trans-denominational Christian organizations in Korea (such as the Korea Evangelical Fellowship), the Foundation never once filed for a counteraction. The 3rd Chairman of the Foundation, Pastor Jung Jin Gyeong (Korea Evangelical Holiness Church), despite his advanced age of 80, submitted to police and prosecution investigations without protest.
During the course of civil action concerning the title to Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery, the Foundation and the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church offered an exceptional mediation proposal but was refused. The mediation plan which the Foundation and the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church proposed is as follows:
First, the Foundation officially regrets the criminal charges brought against the Korean Church leaders by the Association and Seoul Union Church, as it was caused by a misunderstanding concerning the title to the Cemetery and the right to use the Mission Memorial Hall. The Foundation also expresses its regret that it has provided a room for Seoul Union Church to misunderstand the situation.
Second, as for the venue for worship for Seoul Union Church, the Foundation and the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church will construct and donate a building with a total floor space of 150 pyeong (around 456㎡), if Yonsei University, which took on the role of a mediator for Peter Underwood (Underwood IV), the descendent of the founder of Yonsei University, provides land (around 100 pyeong or 331㎡) for the venue.
Third, the Foundation will refund payments paid by purchasers for cemetery plots that were illegally pre-sold by Seoul Union Church. Seoul Union Church and Peter Underwood (Kyungsung European-American Cemetery Association) are otherwise to take responsibility to settle all contractual matters outstanding between Seoul Union Church and the plot purchasers.
The Foundation revised its proposal and offered it several times during the trial and the mediation. Finally, it even proposed that the Foundation would “provide a nearby building in Yanghwajin (excluding Mission Memorial Hall), even one of the annex buildings owned by 100th Anniversary Memorial Church, as a worship venues for Seoul Union Church, free of charge”, but was refused by the other side.
After the Supreme Court's ruling, Seoul Union Church left with their equipment that had been left at the Mission Memorial Hall for 6 years and reimbursed the Foundation and the Church of their litigation expenses as the losing party of the case. They left Yanghwajin for good, leaving behind their groundless and unreasonable attempts to claim right to Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery and the Mission Memorial Hall: the 6 civil and criminal lawsuits and various civil complaints lodged by them since 2005. But John Linton (In Yohan) still openly asserts facts that are patently false, including at a lecture given at the Presbyterian Church of the Lord on August 31st, 2014, in which he claimed “Peter Underwood has put the issues regarding Yanghwajin on trial for the past 7 years but has lost them all. A certain “Pastor Lee and his church” have privatized all of the territory (Yanghwajin), kicked out all foreigner churches, and even carried out campaigns to expel the descendents of the missionaries. My grandmother's mother is buried in Yanghwajin and I am unable to go see her.” [This shows clearly what the true intentions of Peter Underwood and John Linton(In Yohan) were in bringing the lawsuits.]
3
The Conflict Over the So-called “Yanghwajin Issue” Deepens as The Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK) Intervenes.
The PCK insists that they have put great efforts in solving the so-called “Yanghwajin Issue,” but in fact, with the involvement of a particular Christian denomination, the conflict deepened, and it became more difficult to solve the problem.
Outside pressure groups came to involve themselves in so-called “Yanghwajin Issue” as follows: first, Elder Shin, Ho Chul (Yanghwajin Mission/a retired elder at Seokyodong Presbyterian Church) stepped in the matter; then, Seoul Western Presbytery of the PCK inserted itself in the controversy. Elder Shin, Ho Chul intervened in order to continue paid guided tours at Yanghwajin (which he had been running) , and Seoul Western Presbytery, in order to accuse 100th Anniversary Memorial Church for luring members away from existing churches with the so-called “Elder Nomination System.” In short, the real reasons why these parties involved themselves in the so-called “Yanghwajin Issue” did not have to do with the management of the Cemetery or the worship venue for Seoul Union Church, but with issues that directly impacted their self interests.
n spring of 2008, the Seoul Western Presbytery of the PCK established the “Response Committee for Yanghwajin Issue” under the presbytery, and the presbytery, in its general assembly meeting in spring of 2009 (Chair: Pastor Cha Gwang Ho), accused Pastor Lee Jae Chul of 100th Anniversary Memorial Church of heresy for his interpretation of the Apostles’ Creed his book, Mature Believers’ Class and demanded that the Foundation revoke the delegation of management right of the Cemetery to the Church. Furthermore, the Seoul Western Presbytery of the PCK gathered information that distorts the issue regarding Yanghwajin and published the Report on the Yanghwajin and the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church Issue in September of 2009. The report was published in the name of Seoul Northern Local Presbytery of PCK and was distributed to the representatives of each media and the members of the PCK General Assembly at the 94th General Assembly. The Permanent Juridical Council of the Seoul Western Presbytery of the PCK (Council Chair: Pastor Oh, Chang Woo) then proceeded to “dismiss” Pastor Lee Jae Chul of the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church, a nondenominational church which belongs to the Korean Association of Independent Churches And Missions (KAICAM), for violating the PCK constitution on October 10, 2009, although the proceeding was in breach of the PCK constitution and lacked any semblance of fairness or legitimacy .
Following the Seoul Western Presbytery, the PCK General Assembly also got involved in the so-called “Yanghwajin Issue.” In December of 2008, the General Assembly (Moderator: Pastor Kim Sam Hwan) set up a special subcommittee on the resolution of Yanghwajin issue (Subcommittee Chair: Pastor Lee Man Gyu) under its Committee on History. The subcommittee was moved up in status and was placed under the General Assembly as the “Special Committee for Resolution of Yanghwajin Issue” (the “PCK Special Committee”) (Committee Chair: Pastor Kim Jung Seo / Committee Secretary: Pastor Kim Jin Hong) at the General Assembly (Moderator: Pastor Ji Yong Su) held in September of 2009. However, the PCK Special Committee, far from being an impartial mediator, took sides from the very beginning (the Special Committee retained John Linton (In Yohan), a party to the controversy, as its expert advisor), and there was no prospect of reaching a productive resolution through this body. In September of 2010, the PCK Special Committee published and distributed the Report on the Yanghwajin and the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church Incident, which contained serious distortions of the controversy, at the 95th general Assembly. The members of the PCK Special Committee later published a book (which also distorts the issues surrounding the “Yanghwajin Issue”) titled If I had a Thousand Lives in September of 2012 (Committee Chair: Elder Jeon Kye Ok/ Committee Secretary: Pastor Woo Young Su) and in November of 2013 (Committee Chair: Elder Kim, Chul Mo/ Committee Secretary: Pastor Woo Young Su). The PCK General Assembly and Seoul Western Presbytery still provide a link to the Report on the Yanghwajin and the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church Incident that they had put together in 2010 in the home pages of their websites.
The PCK General Assembly persistently hindered the ministry of Pastor Lee Jae Chul and the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church even after the Seoul Western Presbytery illegitimately “dismissed” Pastor Lee. The PCK General Assembly pressured the organizers who invited Pastor Lee to preach at various assemblies and worship services to cancel the invitation and requested Christian internet broadcasting stations to discontinue Pastor Lee's bible teaching program that had been on air. Moreover, the PCK General Assembly referred to Pastor Lee, a member of the KAICAM, simply as "Mr. Lee Jae Chul" in all of its official documents and meetings, not even pretending to observe basic courtesies that are due to ministers who belong to different Christian denominations.
Moreover, the PCK General Assembly (Moderator: Pastor Ji Yong Su) sent official notices to pastors who were members of the PCK serving at the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church, and forced them to resign. Following the order of the PCK, the Seoul Eastern Presbytery of the PCK (Moderator: Pastor Moon Young Yong) wrongfully deprived the pastors serving the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church of their pastorship, moving well beyond the proper bounds of a Christian denomination. As can be seen, PCK pursued deeply unilateral and divisive course of action for a number of years, and as a result, the so-called “Yanghwajin Issue” that the PCK itself raised as a problem became even more aggravated and intensified. The representative instances of distorted publicity engaged in by PCK in connection with “Yanghwajin Issue” are as follows. There are many more instances of malicious falsifications in their official publication, PCK World.
2009. 4. 11. Woo Young Su (Expert Adviser, the Committee on History (PCK General Assembly)): “100th Anniversary Committee Should Break Free From the Trap of 100th Anniversary. (Contribution)”
2009. 5. 5. Lee Man Gyu (Subcommittee Chair/ Subcommittee for the Resolution of Yanghwajin Issue/ PCK Committee on History): “Yanghwajin is the Religious Heritage, a Holy Landmark for the Korean Churches. (Contribution)”
2009. 5. 9. Kim Sam Hwan (the Moderator of PCK General Assembly): “Our Denomination’s Stance on the Recent Seoul Union Church and Yanghwajin Foreigners' Cemetery Issue. (Statement)”
2009. 6. 5. Kim Sam Hwan (the Moderator of PCK General Assembly): “Our Denomination’s Suggestion for Resolving Yanghwajin Cemetery Issue. (Official Letter)”
2009. 6. 16. Cha Gwang Ho (the Moderator of Seoul Western Presbytery) and 8 others: “Indictment Statement for Pastor Lee Jae Chul. (Violation of General Assembly Constitution)”
2009. 7. 18. Lee Man Gyu (Subcommittee Chair/ Subcommittee for the Resolution of Yanghwajin Issue / PCK Committee on History): “Yanghwajin is a Heritage for the Entire Korean Churches. (Contribution)”
2009. 8. 11. Cha Gwang Ho (the Moderator of Seoul Western Presbytery) and 8 others: “The Indictment Statement for Pastor Lee Jae Chul (Allegations of Heresy)”
2009. 9. PCK Seoul Northern Region Presbytery: the Publication of The Report on Yanghwajin 100th Anniversary Memorial Church Incident and about “the False Assertions of Pastor Lee Jae Chul and Others” (Statement)
2009. 10. 10. PCK Seoul Western Presbytery Permanent Juridical Commission (Commissioner, Oh Chang Woo): “Recommendation Decision on Sanctions on Pastor Lee Jae Chul”
2009. 10. 10. Cha Gwang Ho/Oh Chang Woo (the Moderator of Seoul Western Presbytery/ the Commissioner of the Permanent Juridical Committee of Seoul Western Presbytery): “the Official Announcement of the Dismissal of Pastor Lee Jae Chul (Official Announcement)”
2009. 11. 9. Ji Yong Su/Lee Sang Sup (the Moderator of the PCK General Assembly/ the Head of PCK Global Mission Ministry): “Request to Prohibit Invitations to Mr. Lee Jae Chul (Pastor) to Take Part in Worship Services or Events (Official Notice)”
2009. 11. 19. Lee Sang Sup/Park Eun Sung (the Head/ the Secretary of PCK Global Mission Ministry): “About the Speaker for the 30th anniversary worship service at the Dubai Korean Church (Official Notice)”
2009. 12. 30. Ji Yong Su/Kim Jeong Seo (the Moderator of PCK General Assembly/the Committee Chair of the PCK Special Committee for Resolution of Yanghwajin Issue): “Request for Cooperation to Resolve Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery Issue (Official Notice)”
2010. 1. 8. Ji Yong Su/Lee Sun Chang (the Moderator/ the Secretary of the PCK General Assembly): “Notice of Dismissal of Mr. Lee Jae Chul, the Senior Pastor of the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church (Official Notice)”
2010. 2. 10. Jung Jae Hoon/Lee Jung Hwan (The Head/ the Secretary of the PCK Political Bureau): “Request for Cooperation in Responses to Written Questions (Questionnaire)”
2010. 2. 10. Jung Jae Hoon/Kim Chang Young (the Head of the Political Bureau/Head of the Special Investigation Committee): “Questions (Regarding the Board Members of the 100th Anniversary Memorial Foundation”
2010. 6. 8. Ji Yong Su/Kim Jeong Seo (the Moderator of PCK General Assembly/the Committee Chair of the PCK Special Committee for Resolution of Yanghwajin Issues): “Request to Take Warning Action on Affiliated Pastors (Official Announcement)”
2010. 6. 8. Ji Yong Su/Kim Jeong Seo (the Moderator of PCK General Assembly/ the Committee Chair of the PCK Special Committee for Resolution of Yanghwajin Issues): “Request for Cooperation Regarding the Prohibition of Broadcast of Mr. Lee Jae Chul’s Teachings of the Word (Official Notice)”
2010. 7. 9. Lee Gun Ho/Song Young Tae (the Moderator of the Seoul Western Presbytery/Secretary): “Request to Take Warning Action on Affiliated Pastors of Our Denomination (Official Notice)”
2010. 9. Kim Jeong Seo (the Committee Chair of the PCK Special Committee for Resolution of Yanghwajin Issues): Published Report on Yanghwajin 100th Anniversary Memorial Church Incident
2011. 9. 21. Park Wi Geun/Kim Jeong Seo (the Moderator of PCK/Committee Chair of the PCK Special Committee for Resolution of Yanghwajin Issue): Statement
2011. 9. 21. Park Wi Geun (the Moderator of PCK): An Appeal to Korean Churches (Statement)
2012. 4. 17. Moon Young Yong (the Moderator of the Seoul Eastern Presbytery): “100th Anniversary Memorial Church Pastor Lee Sung Sil’s Illegal Dismissal and Newspaper Announcement”
2012. 9. Jeon Gye Ok/Woo Young Su (the Committee Chair of the PCK Special Committee for Resolution of Yanghwajin Issue /Secretary): Published If I had a Thousand Lives
2013. 11. 30. Kim Chul Mo/Woo Young Su (the Committee Chair of the PCK Special Committee for Resolution of Yanghwajin Issue/Secretary): Published If I Had a Thousand Lives (1st and 2nd vol)
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The Foundation and the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church will even more be dedicated to the “preservation of the holy landmark of Yanghwajin.”
Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery is not a place that can be privatized by any one individual or an organization. Since 2005, when the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church was founded, Seoul Union Church, Peter Underwood, John Linton (In Yohan), the General Assembly of the PCK and certain members of the Seoul Western Presbytery have ceaselessly distorted facts and slandered Pastor Lee Jae Chul for “privatizing Yanghwajin.” However, their allegations have been found to be contrary to the facts through three court decisions as well as the outcomes of numerous petitions and investigations. Pastor Lee Jae Chul does not own any interest in any piece of land or a building in Yanghwajin or, for that matter, anywhere else in Korea. In addition, the Foundation and the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church are fully cooperating with the policies of Mapo-gu District and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, as well as the Cultural Heritage Administration, which wish to designate Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery as a national historic site and a cultural heritage, in order to permanently preserve it as an official public heritage. The Foundation and the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church expect and hope that the Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery will soon be registered as a national historic site. The assertion that “an individual is attempting to privatize Yanghwajin” simply does not hold up in light of these facts and are contrary to common sense.
Moreover, no one can be buried at the Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery due to the current laws of the Republic of Korea. Seoul Union Church, Kyungsung European American Cemetery Association, the General Assembly of the PCK and certain members of the Seoul Western Presbytery are distorting the facts as if Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery can still be used for burials today and yet the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church has banned the burials. However, this is a clear lie and slander. It is abundantly clear that burials at Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery are prohibited by the laws concerning funerals. This has been confirmed numerous times through investigations by Mapo-gu District and the Prime Minister’s Office, and even Peter Underwood, who has claimed that he will be buried at Yanghwajin, has acknowledged this fact at the court.
It is illogical to argue that illegal burials must continue in the present at the Cemetery because they took place in the past under the management of Seoul Union Church. In particular, it is difficult to comprehend how anyone can assert that the “illegal activities” should be overlooked while acknowledging that Yanghwajin is a legacy to the Korean Church and its holiest landmark. Even today, Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery is having a hard time handling people who show up with burial site reservation certificates that Seoul Union Church unabashedly issued in the past in violation of the laws of the Republic of Korea. New burials at Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery have been banned by the law and the policy of the responsible government authorities. And yet to hold the party, which is managing the Cemetery in accordance with law, responsible for discontinuing the burials is highly improper for the denomination which is said to represent the Korean Church.
And the reason Seoul Union Church became unable to use the Mission Memorial Hall for “church or worship activities” is due to the administrative guidance issued by Mapo-gu District Office as we have clarified numerous times. The Mission Memorial Hall was originally built as a management office for Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery. However, for about 20 years since it was built in 1986, Seoul Union Church has used the hall for church and worship activities, and for about 2 years since 2005, the hall was used by both Seoul Union Church and the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church for the same purpose. Unfortunately, these unauthorized uses continued for a considerable period of time due to the Foundation’s incomplete understanding of the law and the lack of any enforcement actions on the part of the local government. Then in August 2007, as the conflict between the two churches intensified over the question of the title to Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery and its management, Mapo-gu District Office came to realize that the unauthorized use was taking place, and it stopped the “Mission Memorial Hall from being used as a church or worship, both of which are outside the scope of the proposed purpose for the building.” According to such administrative measure, the Foundation notified Seoul Union Church and the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church that “the Mission Memorial Hall can no longer be used for church or worship activities after August 20, 2007.” As a result, the two churches have left the Mission Memorial Hall.
Currently, the first floor of the Mission Memorial Hall is used as an office for the Foundation, to which the hall belongs, as well as Yanghwajin Cultural Center and Yanghwajin Archives, organizations that research and preserve records about those who have been buried at Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery. The auditorium on the second floor is used by a number of organizations free of charge to hold memorial ceremonies to commemorate those buried at Yanghwajin, for visitors to pray, and to hold cultural events and lectures to maintain open dialogues between the Korean Church and the greater society (Yanghwajin Thursday Lecture Series). On Sundays, it is used for educating the children, middle school students and high school students of the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church, who will tend to and preserve Yanghwajin as a holy landmark of Korean Protestant faith in the future. The Main Worship Hall, which is used for church and worship activities by the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church, has been built outside the boundary of Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery.
Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery is a “historical site” where no less than 145 foreign missionaries who have spread the Gospel to Korea have been laid to rest. It is a “place of memory” which reminds us that their dedication should never be forgotten. No one can privatize this place, and no organization can use this place for their own profit. We only have the responsibility and the duty to cultivate it as a true “holy landmark,” continuing the commitment of Pastor Han Kyung Jik (PCK), the first chairman of the board of directors of the Foundation, Pastor Kang Won Yong (The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea), its second board chairman, Pastor Jung Jin Kyung (Korea Evangelical Holiness Church), its third board chairman, and Pastor Kang Byung Hoon (The Korean Methodist Church), the current board chairman, who all have dedicated themselves to secure Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery as a holy landmark for Korean Protestant faith. Continuing their commitments, the Foundation and the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church will do their best to establish Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery as the representative holy landmark of Korean Protestant faith and work for its permanent preservation despite whatever difficulties that may lie ahead. (End)