South Korea’s Yoon slammed for invoking Jesus in his message sent from prison

A news report on the sentencing trial of South Korean former president Yoon Suk-yeol’s insurrection case in February, stemming from his short-lived December 2024 declaration of martial law.

Photo: Reuters South Korea’s jailed former president Yoon Suk-yeol has drawn sharp criticism for an Easter message from prison that opponents said amounted to comparing his downfall to the suffering of Jesus and showing his lack of remorse for his criminal acts.

Yoon, who was removed from office a year ago after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024, released the message on Sunday through his lawyer, Bae Ui-cheol, urging the public to “hold onto the hope of salvation even if times are difficult”.

Despite a life sentence handed down in February, Yoon still has a strong base of supporters.

But his message, which cast him as a martyr rather than a convict, poses a liability to his former party ahead of local elections on June 3, according to analysts.

In a message posted through Bae’s social media account, Yoon said: “Jesus’ resurrection showed that if we overcome times of suffering, this land will be fully restored with freedom and truth.

Even if times are hard, I pray that this Easter Sunday will be a time to endure suffering, hold onto the hope of salvation, and be reborn as children of God.” Bae said many of Yoon’s supporters, including young people, had asked for a message to “gain strength” during Easter, and that he relayed the requests when he met Yoon on Friday at the Seoul Detention Centre, where the ex-president is imprisoned. “President Yoon, who always worries about and prays for the people, gave the following message in celebration of Easter,” Bae said.

The message sparked condemnation from critics and rebuttals in newspaper editorials.

Supporters of South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk-yeol gather in front of the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul in January.

Photo: AFP “He is drawing parallels between himself and Jesus.

This sounds like nonsense.

People of faith would never dare say such things,” said Catholic priest Kim In-kook, a leader of the Catholic Priests’ Association for Justice, a pro-democracy group.

Kim said Yoon appeared to suggest that his suffering was in accordance with God’s will and that the nation would be saved through it, likening it to a form of resurrection.

Lee Jae-mook, a political-science professor at Hankook University of Foreign Studies, said the timing of the Easter message was intended to

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