On the morning of August 19, twenty-three Roman Catholic priests visited the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul along with the residents opposing the construction of a transmission tower in Miryang. The priests and residents filed a constitutional petition claiming that the police violated the law in taking violent actions in the process of demolishing a rally site in June. This day at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, Monk Docheol of the Korean Buddhist Jogye Order's Labor Committee and other religious figures joined Kim Yeong-oh (47), who has been fasting for 38 days, in a hunger strike calling for the enactment of a special bill concerning the ferry accident. On August 14 at Gwanghwamun Square, Buddhist, Protestant, Catholic, and Won Buddhist groups advocating the rights of immigrants and laborers held a joint press conference and said, “The government's current policy which ignores human dignity and human rights does not comply with our religious beliefs,” and urged the government to abolish the employment permit system, which has entered its tenth year.

Religious figures actively took part in social movements under the military dictatorship, but had withdrawn from society since South Korea re-established democracy. However, they are once again playing a more active role on social issues. These days where there is social conflict, one can easily spot religious figures demanding social change like Pope Francis. The religious circle began actively opposing the government‘s unilateral implementation of government policy under the Lee Myung-bak government.

The Korean Buddhist Jogye Order as an institution officially resolved to oppose the Grand Canal Project on the Korean peninsula. They claimed the project was contrary to the teachings of Buddhism, which values life. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea also decided to oppose the Four Major Rivers Project.

Religious facilities are once again emerging as a haven for people wanted by the law for activities opposing government policies. Park Tae-man, senior vice chairman of the railway union and four union members wanted by the law for massive railway strikes at the end of last year have fled to Jogyesa Temple. The Jogye Order established a labor committee in 2012 and conducted a prayer of 100,000 bows--1,000 bows each day for 100 days--at the memorial for Ssangyong Motor victims at Daehanmun calling for the resolution of the laid off workers of the motor company.

The religious circle actively engaged in social movements as the government's tendency to unilaterally handle critical issues strengthened. The religious circle emerged as an alternative. Lee Won-young, former professor at the University of Suwon, who is engaging in a movement against the Four Major Rivers Project said, “The Grand Canal Project, which the government had promoted while ignoring the responses from various fields, in a way came to a halt with the opposition from the Buddhist circle.” Another reason why religion is taking part in social issues is because the human rights organizations have become powerless. Kim Deok-jin, secretary general of the human rights committee of the Roman Catholic Church said, “During the vicarious administrative execution of the transmission tower in Miryang, the request for emergency relief was dismissed, and the investigators from the human rights commission acted like 'mediators' and not like the defenders of the residents.”

The decline of labor and social movements is considered as another reason driving religion into society. Noh Myung-woo, professor of sociology at Ajou University said, “Among the religious figures, intellectuals, and civic groups which once led the social movements in the past, movements centered on intellectuals and civic groups have declined and relatively the activities of the religious circles have been highlighted.” Professor Noh continued, “Civic groups have not improved the way they treat their activists and have been operating centered on intellectuals and prominent figures. And as universities undergo restructuring, intellectuals have become more conforming and lost their capacity for social movements. The current social movements inevitably centered on the religious sector must develop into one centered on values and not on well-known figures.”