South Korean president criticises Catholic priest's comments

South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Monday criticized a Catholic priest's remark justifying Pyongyang's shelling of a front-line Yeonpyeong island three years ago, saying that she will not tolerate such comments that cause split among people. Her comments came after the priest, Park Chang-shin, said during Mass last Friday that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s artillery strike in 2010 against the border island of Yeonpyeong was mainly caused by continued joint military drills between Seoul and Washington. The cleric cast strong doubts over the Seoul-led multinational investigation results that Pyongyang torpedoed the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan in waters near a western maritime border. The DPRK repeatedly denied its involvement in the 2010 incident, which claimed lives of 46 sailors. He urged President Park to resign over allegations that state agencies, including the spy agency, meddled in the December 2012 presidential election by posting online comments in favor of the then ruling party candidate Park, now president. The priest is a member of the Catholic Priests' Association for Justice, known for their efforts to bring democracy to South Korea in the 1980s under the rule of last military dictator Chun Doo- hwan. "Last Saturday was the day to mark the third anniversary of Yeonpyeong shelling. It reminds me of soldiers who devoted their lives to defend our country as well as patriotism of our soldiers who gave up vacations without any hesitation," Park said at a meeting with senior presidential secretaries that was first held in around a month. Patriotism and unity among people would be much more important for national security than the state-of-the-art weapons, but there have been many things happening that undermine the morale of soldiers who devoted their lives and make their sacrifices go down the drain, Park said. Park stressed that she will never "tolerate or overlook" such actions, which undermine trust and cause split among people, urging secretaries to make efforts to raise morale of soldiers.