About Us
Introduction
Political positions may differ, but we believe everyone shares a common thirst for truth. This truth is our guiding light. And this truth will amend our divisions and restore our nation to move forward.
Truth Forum started as an intercollegiate organization that was born out of a sense of urgent crisis where false inflammatory politics have come to the point of undermining the very foundation of the Republic of Korea. Truth Forum acknowledges the proud history of the Republic of Korea’s founding and economic growth which our forefathers have accomplished in toil and blood, while recognizing our remaining task to be the liberation of North Korea. For this task, we support a strong ROK-US alliance which was forged in shared values of freedom and truth. We also believe that the impeachment of President Park was wrong because it was engineered based on false information and agitation by media.
Truth Forum is open to all who share our five common beliefs regardless of religion, but it maintains adherence to the Judeo-Christian worldview. Upon the Christian conservative understanding which continues to play a critical role in the western conservative movement including in the United States, Truth Forum seeks to conduct research, educate and publicize ideas, visions and policies accordingly, while growing into a think tank that nurtures next generation leaders in various spheres of society..
Thank you.
David Eunkoo Kim,
President of Truth Forum
President of Truth Forum
Our Belief
1. Appreciation of the foundation of the Republic of Korea
The birth and growth of South Korea is a miracle that will decorate the pages of world history. The Republic of Korea was born in the turbulent aftermath of the Second World War through prophetic leaders such as Syngman Rhee with God’s blessings. Unlike North Korea, the Republic of Korea adopted liberal democracy and free market system to achieve remarkable growth and prosperity. Peter Drucker who is dubbed ‘the man who invented management’ referred to South Korea’s economic development led by president Park Chung-hee as the greatest miracle of mankind since the Second World War.
However, such extraordinary account of our Republic is maliciously distorted by those who deny its very foundation. It is our duty to correctly understand and convey the history of our forefathers to the coming generations.
2. Liberation of North Korea
Brutal crimes against humanity are being committed at this very moment by the North Korean regime in a systematic, widespread and grave manner throughout the country. The atrocity of human rights violations occurring in North Korea has no parallel in the contemporary world. It is now the longest running totalitarian state system passed on through three generations of the Kim family. The reality of North Korea’s brutality is attested by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Unfortunately, however, there are still followers of the North Korean regime within South Korea who neglect this reality and idealize the North Korean system. Their ‘sunshine’ policy of appeasement has helped to sustain the brutal totalitarian dictatorship and prolong the suffering of the North Korean people. The liberation of the people in North Korea is our nation’s remaining task. Truth Forum will continue to promote the issue of North Korean human rights and expose those North Korean regime followers in South Korea to the international community to eventually bring freedom to the people in North Korea.
3. Strong ROK-US Alliance
Truth Forum supports a strong ROK-US alliance which is a bedrock of the Republic of Korea’s national security. The ROK-US alliance is a value alliance where the common values of freedom and truth are shared. United States’ noble sacrifice for freedom and truth on the Korean peninsula has not been in vain. The ROK-US alliance is forged in blood, and Korea owes its growth and prosperity to American commitment. We must continue to ‘go together’ in our shared values of freedom and truth.
The communist Soviet Union which we together fought against is now in the ash heap of history. But other varieties of socialism have sprung up taking advantage of our free democracy and tolerance to destroy us from within. In South Korea, socialists fused with romantic nationalism have advocated for the slave-state of North Korea and incited anti-American sentiments to threaten free democracy and market economy. In the United States, socialism has found renewed footing among angry crowds to blind the American people with opportunistic populist policies masked in the name of ‘love’ and ‘peace’. We must confront this threat together. It is the lesson of history that a society where every individual can be free with dignity is only possible in free democracy and vibrant market economy.
The United States should pay particular attention to the current political turmoil in South Korea, because the cultural and historical warfare in Korea is about our shared values of freedom and truth, and it is directly related to the United States’ own identity and value system.
4. Wrongful Impeachment of President Park Geun-hye
We remember the false inflammatory media frenzy that plagued the nation in the months leading up to the impeachment of president Park Geun-hye in March 2017. Contrary to media allegations and accusations, no ‘sex-tape’ of the president has surfaced and no slush funds of ‘880 trillion won’ have come to light. Without proper reflection on the impeachment based on fake news and incitement, no meaningful political reform is possible.
Swayed by the false media instigations, the National Assembly voted in favor of the impeachment and the Constitutional Court made a political decision based on false news reports without factual evidence. Furthermore, we have since witnessed the abuse of the judicial courts as political tools by the ideologically biased judges and prosecutors who threaten the very identity of the Republic of Korea.
We must confront the media bias and disinformation currently rampant in South Korean society and base our discourses on truth. The media should be the source of factual reporting free of political calculations, but it has completely neglected to cover and/or distorted the massive flag rallies across Seoul in opposition to the impeachment. Truth Forum will continue to raise this issue of wrongful impeachment, not because of certain preference to president Park Geun-hye and her administration, but because we remember the false news allegations and the politically driven wrongful judicial procedures that led to her impeachment.
5. Christian Conservatism based on Judeo-Christian Worldview
Truth Forum holds a Christian conservative understanding based on the Judeo-Christian worldview. While participation is open to all individuals regardless of religion, its members recognize that our organization is managed upon such assumption.
Liberal theological strands such as minjung (people) theology and queer theology that indiscreetly adopt Marxism and postmodernism not only seriously distort the gospel but have become a core logic behind the leftist political movement. Liberation theology, or ‘Marxism in Christian disguise’, has developed into minjung theology, which has come to the point of revering Kim Il-sung (DPRK founder) as a god. Minjung theology is based on minjung democracy, or people’s democracy, which serves as the basis of support for Kimilsungism, or juche ideology. To correct such radical theologies is not only critical for the restoration of the Church and society but also directly relevant to our task of liberating North Korea.
We are conservatives. We believe every person is created in the image of God and has dignity. We believe in freedom with responsibility and in truth. We humbly recognize human limitations and trust divine providence. We respect experiences and results with prudence rather than utopian social engineering. It is a lesson of history that only free democracy and free market system ensure prosperity with freedom and dignity.