MONROVIA, — About 3,000 pastors from around the world have joined calls for religious freedom and judicial due process in South Korea, with international Christian leaders urging authorities to ensure a fair trial for 95-year-old Shincheonji Chairman Lee Man-hee.
The calls were made during the first Joint Assembly of World Pastors, held on August 13, 2026, and co-hosted by seven Christian organizations from South Korea and abroad.
The assembly brought together pastors and religious leaders from Korea, Russia, Zambia, Thailand, Africa and other parts of the world, both online and in person, to discuss what organizers described as growing threats to religious freedom and the principle of separation between church and state in South Korea.
The participants particularly criticized what they called “trial by public opinion” against religious leaders and communities, while raising concerns over the detention of Lee, who is currently facing charges related to alleged violations of South Korea’s Political Parties Act.
The overseas pastors declared that “the detention of Shincheonji Chairman Lee Man-hee is a trial by public opinion and a human-rights violation,” while stressing that religious freedom should not depend on whether a religious group is popular or unpopular.
“This is not the problem of one denomination or one nation,” the participants said, referring to broader debates over the dissolution of religious organizations.
They pledged to unite across borders to defend what they described as universal religious freedom.
Concerns Over Dissolution of Religious Organizations
Rev. Im Young-woong, senior pastor of Saehimang (New Hope) Church of the Presbyterian Church of Korea, warned against the use of state powers to dissolve religious corporations.
He cited Japan’s former Unification Church, now known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, as an example of the potential consequences of dissolving the legal status of a religious organization.
Rev. Young-woong argued that while allegations of criminal conduct should be investigated and proven offenses punished, criminal allegations against individuals should not automatically become grounds for targeting entire religious communities.
“If the state can dissolve a single religious organization, exactly how far should that standard reach — and who can guarantee that the standard created today will not be applied to another church tomorrow?” he asked.
He also referenced Article 38 of South Korea’s Civil Act, which permits the revocation of a corporation’s establishment permit for acts considered harmful to the public interest.
The pastor questioned who determines what constitutes harm to the public interest and what standards should govern such decisions.
He also referenced the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s actions during the COVID-19 pandemic involving organizations associated with Shincheonji, as well as a December 2025 call to examine the possibility of dissolving domestic religious organizations.
Rev. Young-woong invoked Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, arguing that religious freedom should apply equally to majority and minority faiths, as well as to religions that are socially popular or unpopular.
Russian Evangelical Alliance Warns Against “Trial by Public Opinion”
Rev. Vitaly Kirillovich Vlasenko, General Secretary of the Russian Evangelical Alliance, addressed the assembly under the theme “Public opinion cannot be a verdict.”
Vlasenko questioned whether it is just for legal standards to change because a particular religion or religious leader has become the subject of public hostility.
He argued that widespread condemnation or extensive media coverage should not be allowed to determine guilt before a court has reached a verdict.
“The stronger the social pressure, the more fair and neutral the trial must be,” Vlasenko said, adding that increased religious hostility should require stronger state oversight to ensure that due process is respected.
He referred to the backlash against Shincheonji during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the church became a major focus of public criticism following the outbreak in Daegu.
According to Vlasenko, the intense public reaction created an atmosphere in which society appeared to have reached a verdict before the courts had completed their proceedings.
He also pointed to the South Korean Supreme Court’s previous ruling involving Lee Man-hee, noting that the court acquitted him of violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act while upholding convictions on some other charges.
“A court is not an institution that judges a person wholesale as a ‘good person’ or a ‘bad person’; it is a place that examines the evidence for each specific charge and distinguishes guilt from innocence,” he said.
Vlasenko urged authorities to apply the law equally regardless of religious affiliation or public sentiment.
Zambian Pastor Raises Humanitarian Concerns
Bishop Elias Elijah Changa, founder and president of the Zambia-based Missionary Ambassadors for Global Evangelism (MAGE), focused on the humanitarian implications of detaining an elderly religious leader.
“The administration of justice and the protection of human dignity must go together,” Changa said.
Drawing from his experience in prison ministry, he said detention can impose particularly severe hardships on elderly people.
Changa acknowledged that Lee’s religious leadership and international activities do not place him above the law, but argued that any judgment against him should be based solely on evidence and applicable law.
“Age gives no one the right to stand above the law,” he said, while urging authorities to consider lawful alternatives such as bail, residence restrictions or appropriate 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,” Changa said.
Liberian Clergy Join International Appeal
The international appeal also received support from pastors and religious workers in Liberia who participated in an online briefing of the assembly.
Among them was Pastor David A. Stewart of Living Word Community Church, who said religious belief should be protected as a matter of individual conscience.
“Religious belief must not be violated because to obtain salvation, it requires one’s will,” Stewart said.
The Liberia chapter reportedly included 22 pastors, 17 assistant pastors, 21 evangelists and other church workers representing different denominations.
Three Liberian religious leaders — Stewart, Pastor Abraham Z. Freeman of Glorious Empowerment Church of God and Rev. Mother Josephine K. Toe of House of Prayer Redeemer Ministry — separately expressed support for religious tolerance in South Korea and called for due process for the 95-year-old Lee.
Global Pastors Adopt Joint Statement
The assembly concluded with the adoption of a joint statement bearing the signatures of Christian leaders from around the world.
The statement called on the South Korean government and political authorities to stop using specific religious groups, including Shincheonji, as instruments of political conflict or suppression and to uphold the principle of separation between church and state.
It also called on the judiciary to reject what the organizers described as “trials by public opinion” and “witch hunts,” uphold the presumption of innocence and consider the age and health of the detained religious leader.
The organizers further appealed for Lee’s bail request to be granted and for his immediate release, citing concerns about his age and health.
They said the cases discussed during the assembly should not be viewed solely as matters concerning one denomination but as broader warnings about religious freedom in South Korea.
“Until the government and judicial authorities return to fair justice and the principle of separation of church and state, we will continue our response in solidarity with international human-rights organizations and the churches of the world,” the organizers said.
At the close of the assembly, 50 pastors signed the joint statement, signaling their support for religious tolerance, judicial due process and the freedom of Chairman Lee Man-hee.
The organizers said their campaign would continue through international cooperation with churches and human-rights organizations.
