Brother ends fast for withdrawal of South Korean troops from Iraq

Published: 2004-09-27

SEOUL, South Korea (CNS) -- A religious brother has ended his two-month fast aimed at getting the South Korean government to withdraw its troops from Iraq. Marianist Brother John Kim Jae-bok said at a Sept. 21 press conference that now he would oppose the war in Iraq by organizing a campaign for a "people's court" to try U.S. President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun for war crimes, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. About 70 Catholics and members of nongovernmental organizations working on human rights issues participated in the press conference, held near the presidential office in Seoul. Park Gi-bum, a writer who fasted with Brother Kim, also attended the press conference. Brother Kim began fasting July 26, and Park began two weeks later. They joined forces and took their fast to several places around the country. They said they consumed nothing but water, salt and tea until Sept. 21, when they both stopped fasting. "During the pilgrimage, I met a lot of children and grass-roots people who already understood (the values of) peace and life even before I came to explain my anti-war protest," Brother Kim told UCA News Sept. 21.

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