In a significant show of international solidarity, 3,000 pastors from around the world gathered online and offline on August 13 for the inaugural Joint Assembly of World Pastors, sharply criticizing what they called a crisis of religious freedom in South Korea. The assembly, co-hosted by seven Christian organizations from Korea and abroad, addressed the detention of Shincheonji Chairman Lee Man-hee and warned that the country's actions threaten the universal right to religious freedom.
Rev. Im Young-woong, senior pastor of Saehimang Church of the Presbyterian Church of Korea, drew parallels between South Korea's current debate over dissolving religious corporations and the recent dissolution of Japan's Unification Church. He pointed to Article 38 of Korea's Civil Act, which permits revocation of a corporation's establishment permit for "acts that harm the public interest," questioning who decides what constitutes harm and by what standard. Citing the Seoul Metropolitan Government's 2020 revocation of an incorporated association linked to Shincheonji and the December 2025 presidential order to review the dissolution of domestic religious organizations, Rev. Im warned, "Our concerns are becoming reality." He stressed that while individual criminal allegations should be investigated, targeting an entire religious community for dissolution based on "social unpopularity" is dangerous, as it could set a precedent for any religion.
Rev. Vitaly Kirillovich Vlasenko, General Secretary of the Russian Evangelical Alliance, delivered a presentation titled "Public opinion cannot be a verdict," emphasizing the need for judicial neutrality. He referenced the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak linked to Shincheonji, which sparked a national petition with over one million signatures calling for the group's dissolution. Vlasenko noted that despite this public pressure, South Korea's Supreme Court acquitted Lee Man-hee on charges of violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act. He argued that courts must examine evidence for each specific charge, distinguishing guilt from innocence, rather than succumbing to public opinion.
Bishop Elias Elijah Changa, founder of the Zambia-based Missionary Ambassadors for Global Evangelism, raised humanitarian concerns about the detention of the 95-year-old Lee Man-hee. Drawing on his experience in prison ministry, he highlighted the severe hardship detention causes for the elderly and called for lawful alternatives such as bail, residence restriction, or medical accommodation. "We are not demanding that Chairman Lee 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," Changa said.
The assembly concluded with the adoption of a Joint Statement demanding that the South Korean government cease using specific religions as tools of political strife, that the judiciary halt trials by public opinion and uphold the presumption of innocence, and that the court grant bail to Lee Man-hee immediately. The organizers emphasized that these issues transcend any single denomination or nation, serving as a grave warning for religious freedom worldwide.
