Charlie Kirk’s South Korean campaign

OPINION:

Secretary of State and acting national security adviser Marco Rubio articulated one of our biggest challenges during Charlie Kirk’s amazing memorial service in Phoenix. 

“Just days before Kirk passed away, he sent a message from abroad stating, ‘I am in South Korea. When I return to the U.S., I want to discuss various concerns.’ Kirk constantly strived to broaden his perspective and, despite his youth, possessed not just knowledge but remarkable wisdom,” Mr. Rubio said.

Mr. Rubio was referring to what had become Kirk’s Korean Campaign. Perhaps more than any other national figure, Kirk understood that the new South Korean government seems determined to destroy its opponents and Christianity. It seems equally determined to establish a closed, government-dominated state akin to North Korea and communist China. The new government is not behaving anything like the democratic society with which America has been allied for 75 years – and previously saved from communist rule.

Kirk himself talked about the new government’s threat to religious liberty in a speech in Seoul just days before he was killed. The speech is powerful and a major part of Kirk’s legacy. In it, he pointed out that the new South Korean government is investigating and arresting pastors and threatening the individual freedoms of the Korean people. He warned that if the new government continues its efforts, South Korea’s relationship with America could quickly deteriorate. He also urged South Koreans to not stand by as their liberties are threatened.

“Do you know what the best way to fight totalitarianism and dictators is? It’s for good people to rise up together. Thank you for welcoming me as your guest in this amazing country,” Kirk said. “I will share my experiences with these beautiful Koreans with the world. And I will never forget South Korea and I will return if you need me. Your fight is our fight. So, let’s stand together. Let’s fight for South Korea. May the Lord bless the Republic of Korea and the United States. Thank you, bless you.”

The Korea JoongAng Daily captured the essence of Kirk’s message, quoting him as saying: “Their country is totally under attack. The same things that we have been fighting for here, whether it be lawfare in South Korea or mass migration in Japan — this is a worldwide phenomenon.”

The reality of the new South Korean government’s move toward totalitarianism and destruction of its religious and political opponents is exemplified by the arrest and imprisonment of Hak Ja Han Moon. She is an 82-year-old religious leader with a serious heart condition. She is also the leader of a worldwide movement for peace and unification, the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, formerly known as the Unification Church. She has worked tirelessly for six decades to bring North Korea out of its dictatorship. Her organization has representatives working for peace and freedom in more than 160 countries. It also operates a number of businesses including The Washington Times.

Now, she is being treated as a common criminal, and her life is being endangered by the new South Korean government as part of its anti-religion campaign.

In Kirk’s memory – and defense of religious freedom worldwide – the Trump administration should apply maximum pressure on the new South Korean government to drop its anti-religious, anti-freedom campaign. 

That would be an achievement that would make Kirk proud that his legacy is real and reaches beyond America.

• Newt Gingrich is a former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and the architect of the 1994 Contract with America. He was a Republican candidate for president in 2012, and is a best-selling author, a Fox News contributor, and chairman of the board for Gingrich 360.