On August 13, 2026, a coalition of seven Christian organizations from South Korea and abroad hosted the '1st Joint Assembly of World Pastors,' drawing approximately 3,000 pastors online and offline. The assembly sharply criticized what they perceive as escalating violations of religious freedom and the undermining of church-state separation in South Korea.
The event, co-hosted by groups including the Council for Christian Mutual Growth, the Korea Christian Leaders Training Institute, the Pastors Alliance for Life and Human Rights, the Russian Evangelical Alliance, and the Thai Evangelical Alliance Association, featured speakers from Russia, Zambia, and other nations. They addressed the detention of Shincheonji Chairman Lee Man-hee, now 95 years old, on charges of violating the Political Parties Act. The pastors argued that his detention constitutes a 'trial by public opinion' and a human-rights violation, urging the court to grant bail and release him immediately.
Rev. Im Young-woong, senior pastor of Saehimang Church, warned against the state's power to dissolve religious corporations, citing Japan's recent dissolution of the Unification Church. He noted that while Japan's action targeted the legal status of the church, its impact on religious communities is substantial, including loss of tax benefits and asset liquidation. He referenced South Korea's Civil Act Article 38, which allows revocation of permits for acts harmful to public interest, and pointed to past cases involving Shincheonji and HWPL, as well as a 2025 presidential order to review dissolution of domestic religious groups. 'If there are allegations, they must be investigated,' he said, 'but investigating an individual's criminal allegations and making an entire religious community of hundreds of thousands of members a target for survival-or-dissolution are matters on entirely different levels.'
General Secretary Vitaly Kirillovich Vlasenko of the Russian Evangelical Alliance emphasized that 'public opinion cannot be a verdict.' He recalled the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak linked to Shincheonji in Daegu, which led to over a million signatures on a petition demanding dissolution, creating an atmosphere of societal condemnation before any court judgment. He noted that the Supreme Court later acquitted Lee on infectious disease charges while upholding convictions on other counts, illustrating the difference between public sentiment and legal process. 'The stronger the social pressure, the more fair and neutral the trial must be,' he stressed.
Bishop Elias Elijah Changa, founder of the Zambia-based Missionary Ambassadors for Global Evangelism, addressed the humanitarian aspect of detaining a 95-year-old. Drawing from his prison ministry experience, he highlighted the severe hardships elderly detainees face and called for lawful alternatives such as bail or medical accommodation. 'Age gives no one the right to stand above the law, but to protect life and humanity, I ask the competent authorities to carefully consider lawful alternatives,' he said.
The assembly concluded with the adoption of a joint statement demanding that the South Korean government and judiciary cease using specific religions as political tools, uphold the presumption of innocence for Lee, and grant his bail request for immediate release. Organizers declared that the situation is not limited to one denomination but signals a broader crisis for religious freedom in South Korea, pledging continued solidarity with international human-rights organizations and churches worldwide.
