One day in the run-up to the democratic election (November 1946) in Korea, the year after the country’s liberation, President Kim Il Sung was informed by an official of the fact that the participants in the joint conference of Presbyterians in the five provinces of the country held a meeting to promote moral living, in which they adopted a decision on banning their followers from participating in the upcoming election, because the election day was the Sabbath day.
It was undoubtedly the product of an enemy plot to foil the election.
After a while’s deep thought over the situation the President had an audience with some Presbyterian and Methodist ministers.
On that occasion he expressed his great delight at their meeting and asked them if it was true that the said conference adopted a decision on disapproving the participation in the democratic election by their followers.
One of the ministers said the Sabbath day accounted for that decision.
Noting that he heard that the Bible states good deeds can be done although it is the Sabbath day, he asked them again if he was right.
The ministers sat on in silence.
At the moment the President continued: The election we are to hold aims at electing people’s representatives in order to ensure successful progress of state affairs. Good persons should also be selected as representatives among religious activists and accordingly, religionists should naturally participate in electing the excellent representatives of the people.
Conscience-stricken at his irrefutable and just argument, the ministers said unanimously that they would follow his instructions.
As soon as they returned home, they told the believers that the said conference made a wrong decision and encouraged them all to take an active part in the election.
