Peace gained by force cannot last long. Peace can no longer be guaranteed when the balance of power is broken. This is why peaceful methods need to be used.
The Bishop's Justice and Peace Committee and Diocese Justice and Peace Committee held a seminar recently, the presenters agreed that to achieve true peace, arms competition should be avoided and fair distribution of goods should be achieved.
In a keynote speech, a bishop pointed out: "The Korean government wants to proceed with the peace process on the Korean Peninsula but the defense budget was raised 3.4 % from the 2021 budget. He explained that increasing the defense budget while working in declaring the end of the war does not make sense for peace will not enter the discussion.
Taking West and East Germany as an example, the bishop said: "Before German reunification, West Germany continued to provide economic support to East Germany for 18 years," adding, "This played an absolute role in fostering homogeneity among East German citizens rather than hostility to West Germany. If the South Korean government continues to devote its budget to food and welfare of North Koreans, it will have a positive impact on easing tensions between the two Koreas," he said.
The reason war and conflict occur in the world is that the gap, discrimination, and complaints between the country and the people deepen. This is because goods are not distributed fairly, he said. Such inequality and unfairness fundamentally stem from selfishness to excessively fill self-interest. Greed is the source of conflict, he pointed out.
"Mankind should be freed from the greed to have more, consume more, and enjoy more," adding, "If we really want peace, we should accept a poorer life, live simply and in moderation, and share the surplus with the poor, who lose their human dignity due to extreme deficiencies. That way, there is hope for the future of mankind, he stressed.
In a subsequent presentation, the director of the Peace Armament Center, presented the theme of "reduction of arms and peace on the Korean Peninsula." "On the Korean Peninsula, arms competition has been fierce over the past 70 years because of deterrence to war and has provided another cause for the crisis.
The politics of war and confrontation to deny and annihilate each other over "value" and "ideology" have continued, and it has blocked peace and human rights," he said adding, "Peace must be achieved in a peaceful way, not by military means. "Not only should we leave it to negotiations between governments, but also the parties who have suffered from division and war should be the main agents and they need to speak out." He appealed: "Many people should pay attention to peace on the Korean Peninsula, participate in the peace campaign and join forces in ending the war.
