DALLAS, TX – On August 13, 2026, seven religious organizations from Korea and abroad co-hosted the 1st Joint Assembly of World Pastors, drawing approximately 3,000 pastors online and offline. The assembly sharply criticized what they described as violations of religious freedom and the undermining of the separation of church and state in South Korea. Speakers, including overseas pastors from Russia, Zambia, and Thailand, emphasized that the issues raised are not confined to one denomination or nation but pose a global threat to religious liberty.
Rev. Im Young-woong, senior pastor of Saehimang Church of the Presbyterian Church of Korea, opened the discussion by highlighting the dangers of dissolving religious corporations. He referenced Japan's dissolution order against the former Unification Church, finalized by the Supreme Court of Japan in June 2026, as a cautionary example. "What was dissolved in Japan was not the faith itself but its legal status as a religious corporation; yet the practical impact on the religious community is by no means small," he said. Rev. Im pointed to Article 38 of Korea's Civil Act, which allows revocation of a corporation's establishment permit for "acts that harm the public interest," and questioned who decides what harms the public interest and by what standard. He cited examples from South Korea, including the 2020 revocation of a permit for an incorporated association linked to Shincheonji and the 2025 presidential order to review the dissolution of domestic religious organizations. "The most dangerous thing is that it is not objective criminal facts but 'social unpopularity' that operates as grounds for dissolution," he warned, invoking Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Rev. Vitaly Kirillovich Vlasenko, General Secretary of the Russian Evangelical Alliance, addressed the theme "Public opinion cannot be a verdict." He stressed that the legal standard applied to a religion should not change based on social hatred. Recalling the 2020 situation where a national petition demanding the dissolution of Shincheonji gathered over 500,000 signatures in two days, he noted that "an atmosphere formed as if society had already handed down its verdict before the court had even held a trial." He emphasized that the Supreme Court of South Korea acquitted Chairman Lee Man-hee of violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, underscoring the difference between public opinion and judicial judgment. "Whether or not one agrees with the doctrine, the legal standard must be applied equally to everyone," he urged.
Bishop Elias Elijah Changa, founder and president of Missionary Ambassadors for Global Evangelism (MAGE) in Lusaka, Zambia, raised concerns about due process and human dignity based on his prison-ministry experience. He acknowledged that Chairman Lee Man-hee's work for peace-building and interfaith dialogue through HWPL does not grant him immunity from the law, but insisted that "the judgment concerning him must be made by the courts on the basis of law and evidence alone." He highlighted the severe hardship detention causes for the elderly and asked authorities to consider lawful alternatives such as bail, residence restriction, or medical accommodation. "We are not demanding that Chairman Lee Man-hee receive special treatment because he is a religious leader; we are asking that the fairness, dignity, and universal rights owed to everyone be extended equally to him," he stated.
The assembly concluded with the adoption of a Joint Statement, signed by Christian leaders worldwide, demanding that the South Korean government and judiciary cease using specific religions as tools of political strife, uphold the presumption of innocence for the elderly leader, and grant bail for his immediate release. The organizers declared, "The cases presented here are not the problem of one denomination alone but a grave warning signal spanning religious freedom in the Republic of Korea as a whole." They vowed to continue their response in solidarity with international human-rights organizations and churches worldwide until fair justice and the principle of separation of church and state are restored.
