Declaration of Conscience

Apparently the Korean term yangsim sonon, or "declaration of conscience" was popularized by famous dissident poet Kim Chiha (pictured) who issued a statement from jail in 1975 using the term.

In the letter, he explained how his conscience compelled him to challenge the legitimacy of Park Chung Hee's authoritarian rule. He later confessed that the letter was not written by him but by his lawyer friend, the late Cho Yong-nae.

Since then, the term came to mean a voluntary action by an individual – dictated by his or her own conscience – of exposing wrongdoings in public offices or trusted positions, regardless of the negative consequences that he or she might subsequently suffer.

Yangsim sonon also came to be widely accepted as a heroic deed, wrote University of British Columbia professor Chang Yun-shik in an article titled The Dialectic of Personalism Unfolds in Korea (Insight into Korea, Herald Media 2007).

It soon led to confessions by congressmen that their parties had taken illegal donations, by government investigators that their investigative work into government officials' corrupt practices were blocked by the Blue House, and by high school teachers that they had donated monies to their schools as a conditional payment for being hired - the list goes on.

A "declaration of conscience" is reportedly difficult to make and involved personal risks. 23 out of 47 "declarers of conscience" reported in the past five years were indicted, put on trial and sent to jail. Some of them lost their jobs and retirement bonus, or were demoted. Indeed, "going public with the organization's secret is regarded by many as a form of turning against one's colleagues and forsaking loyalty to the organization."

A newspaper editorial even argued that "a true declaration of conscience may contribute to public interest. It may be a worthy action if one individual's conscience could save the society. But declaration of conscience is often an act of betrayal. One cannot declare his or her conscience without betraying the organization and certain personal ties. That betrayal may cause distrust in society. Damage resulting from a declaration of conscience may be greater than the benefits accruing to it. A world in which people cannot trust each other is much more dangerous than one without a declaration of conscience."

Whoa.

The editorial ended with a phrase from Confucius' Analects – "I hate those people who think of disclosing other people's secret as honesty."

Hmm, did Confucius or any of his disciples ever say that?

Even so, Chang noted that there is increasing support for declarations of conscience as "courageous acts indicting social injustice and irregularity." Conscience declarers have even formed a group called the Assembly of Declarers of Conscience to carry out the task of "disclosing and fighting against social irregularities."

Many civic groups were also involved by helping individuals punished for their courage to officially restore their honor, and to urge lawmakers to pass laws protecting such individuals.

Two religious organizations have encouraged declarations of conscience by establishing booths to make it easier for those who wish to declare their conscience.

Chang argued that "declaration of conscience as a commitment may go against traditional Confucian ethics. But it is gradually being accepted by the public as heroic."

I am not sure what the "traditional Confucian ethics" are in this case. While Confucianism does contain strong references to the various types of human relations, I am somewhat certain that the spirit and substance of Confucianism does not condone dishonesty and wrongdoing.

And besides, as Chang pointed out, there is one very fundamental issue in the declaration of conscience - the declarers of conscience are disclosing wrongdoings by others, and not their own individual wrongdoings. Certainly the former is much easier than the latter.