"Only God Commands, Hold On-Site Worship"... Controversy Over Letter from Methodist Pastor with 1.3 Million Followers

Pastor Won Seong-ung, the bishop of the Seoul Annual Conference of the Korean Methodist Church, criticized the government's non-face-to-face worship measures in an urgent letter regarding in-person worship on the 11th, and requested that affiliated churches hold on-site worship services starting from the 20th. Photo by the Korean Methodist Church Seoul Annual Conference website. Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] A leading pastor of the Korea Methodist Church (KMC), one of the major Protestant denominations in Korea, sent a letter starting from the 20th urging churches to hold on-site worship services and stating that the Methodist Church will take legal responsibility.

According to the Protestant community on the 13th, Pastor Won Seong-ung, superintendent of the Seoul Annual Conference of the KMC, stated in a letter on the 11th, "From the 20th, we hope each church will conduct Sunday worship services prudently and wisely," adding, "Only those who are not feeling well should attend worship via video at home, and we hope to restore reverent and holy Sunday worship."

Pastor Won said, "Regarding the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in our country, there have been unusually unfair and biased criticisms directed at churches," and argued, "If Sunday worship continues to be held via video, it will clearly cause great harm to the essence of worship and faith in the church, and churches will be reduced to government sub-agencies blindly obeying government orders."

He added, "The only one who can command us not to worship is our Lord God alone," emphasizing, "The quarantine authorities are not in a position to issue orders regarding the unique faith and belief of Christians; they should only ask for cooperation in quarantine."

He further stated, "Government officials should not issue unauthorized orders such as 'close the church doors' with a tone that belittles churches as 'problematic groups.'"

Pastor Won explained that the legal responsibility arising from in-person worship will be "jointly borne and addressed by the Methodist Church," and said, "If confirmed cases occur due to worship at the church, the church can close the worship hall, conduct quarantine measures, and then resume worship."

He also stated, "Even if fines or claims for compensation are imposed, the Methodist denomination plans to respond legally on a joint basis."

Meanwhile, the KMC, the third largest Protestant denomination in Korea, is known to have about 6,700 affiliated churches and over 1.3 million believers. Among them, the Seoul Annual Conference oversees about 390 churches in the Seoul area, with approximately 190,000 members.