SEOUL, South Korea – On Sunday, August 23rd, seven Christian organizations from South Korea and abroad came together to host the first Joint Assembly of World Pastors. The event, which included both in-person and online attendance, brought together an estimated 3,000 pastors from countries around the world to discuss the state of religious freedom and the principle of separation of church and state in the Republic of Korea.
Presenters at the assembly included pastors from Russia and Zambia, who joined Korean speakers in addressing the assembly. The discussion focused on the recent debate in South Korea about the dissolution of religious corporations and the implications for religious freedom and due process.
Reverend Young-woong, senior pastor of Saehimang (New Hope) Church of the Presbyterian Church of Korea, opened the event by considering the wider implications of recent court cases in Japan and Korea. He noted that while criminal allegations against individuals should be investigated and held accountable, treating an entire religious community as a candidate for dissolution goes against the principle of religious freedom and international human rights standards.
Reverend Vitaly Kirillovich Vlasenko, General Secretary of the Russian Evangelical Alliance, spoke on the theme of judicial neutrality. He emphasized the importance of applying the same legal standard to everyone, regardless of public opinion or personal beliefs.
Bishop Elias Elijah Changa, founder and president of Missionary Ambassadors for Global Evangelism in Lusaka, Zambia, drew on his experience in prison ministry to raise questions of due process and human dignity. He called for fair treatment and consideration for elderly individuals, such as 95-year-old Chairman Lee Man-hee of Shincheonji, who is currently detained on charges under the Political Parties Act.
The assembly concluded with a joint statement, signed by Christian leaders from around the world, calling on the South Korean government and political parties to uphold the constitutional separation of church and state and refrain from involving religious groups in political disputes. The statement also urged the judiciary to maintain the presumption of innocence for elderly defendants and give due consideration to Chairman Lee Man-hee’s bail request.
The organizers of the assembly stated their intentions to continue working alongside international human rights organizations and churches worldwide to ensure fair judicial process and the separation of church and state in the Republic of Korea.
This discussion is of relevance not only to an international audience, but also to a British one. The United Kingdom has a long-standing commitment to freedom of religion or belief, represented by the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief. With Shincheonji having an established presence in the United Kingdom since 2023, the treatment of the group in South Korea has already been the subject of questions in the UK Parliament. The questions raised at the assembly, concerning due process and the equal application of the law to religious minorities, are part of an ongoing debate that the United Kingdom has consistently supported on the international stage.
