South Korean priests armed only with Catholic vestments and crosses fought military-backed dictators in the 1970s-80s with hunger strikes and street rallies, giving pro-democracy activists sanctuary at churches.Now, the priests have picked a fight with what they call South Korea's «economic dictator» - Samsung Group, the country's largest conglomerate _ in cooperation with a whistle-blower who has triggered a special probe over allegations of corruption reaching to society's highest levels.
Given the reach of Samsung in South Korea, which employs about 250,000 people in some 60 businesses whose sales make up nearly a fifth of the country's gross domestic product, observers say it could only be men with faith in a power higher than Samsung who would dare take on the mega-company.
«Nobody wants to get involved in the Samsung problem because Samsung's power is so strong,» said Chang Seok-man, a senior researcher at Seoul's Korea Institute for Religion and Culture.
The priests «may be the last people who can challenge» Samsung, he said.
Since October, the Catholic Priests' Association for Justice has leveled a series of corruption allegations at Samsung, including a claim that the conglomerate provided government officials, judges and prosecutors with regular bribes from illicit slush funds.
The allegations touched off an unprecedented independent counsel investigation of Samsung.
Investigators have questioned top aides to Samsung's reclusive chairman Lee Kun-hee and also his only son, and raided offices including flagship Samsung Electronics, a leading TV and memory chip maker.
Samsung denies the claims and declined to comment on the priests' involvement in the probe.
The priests' group, founded in 1974, earned public respect for their fight against general-turned-president Park Chung-hee and his successor Chun Doo-hwan.
Members have often staged hunger strikes or sometimes shaved their heads in protest calls for democracy.
South Korea's main Myeongdong Cathedral in central Seoul was a sanctuary for dissidents on the run, nicknamed the «Mecca» of South Korean's pro-democracy movement.
In May 1987, the priests uncovered a government attempt to cover up the torture death of a student activist.
That revelation, along with the death of another student activist shot by a tear gas gun, touched off a nationwide uprising the following month, forcing Chun's government to accept direct presidential elections _ the birth of South Korea's democracy.
«In principle, religion and politics should be separated. But Christianity has always resisted when there is injustice and corruption in the public sector,» said Kim Sang-keun, a theology professor at Seoul's Yonsei University, noting similar movements have been seen elsewhere in the world.
After the democracy movement, the group that now includes some 60 priests have worked for various other causes.
They have called for reconciliation with North Korea, abolition of the country's anti-communist law, environmental protection, media reform and a halt to the country's cooperation with the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
Their agenda resembles that of leftist groups, which has raised hackles among conservatives who worry that rattling Samsung could shake the nation's economy.
When the association made the Samsung revelations last year, some conservative groups of ordinary Catholic followers issued statements calling them «fake priests.
The priests dismiss such criticism.
«The economy gets better if we catch a thief, doesn't it?» Kim In-kook, a leader of the priest group, told The Associated Press. Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee «is a thief ... Lee Kun-hee is an economic dictator,» he said.
Samsung rejected the accusation against its chief as unfair.
«The allegations regarding Samsung are currently being investigated by the special prosecutors. None of these allegations directly involve Mr. Lee Kun-hee,» Samsung said in a statement.
«Chairman Lee is a highly respected businessperson who has dedicated himself to developing Samsung into a leading global corporation.
The priests got involved in the Samsung scandal after former Samsung lawyer Kim Yong-chul approached them in early October for help in divulging Samsung's corruption, which he says he learned of during seven years working there.
On Wednesday, the priests raised their latest allegation, saying the country's spy chief-designate and a senior aide to new President Lee Myung-bak were among those who accepted Samsung bribes. Both denied the claim.
South Korean conglomerates, known as «chaebol,» have long been accused of influence-peddling as well as dubious transactions between subsidiaries to help controlling families evade taxes and transfer wealth to heirs.
Kim, the priest, did not elaborate how the group verified the ex-lawyer's claims of Samsung's malfeasance, saying only they knew «at a glance» that he was speaking the truth.
«We are aiming for a society where fairness and love exist,» he said.
«Justice is the condition for love.
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