Lee Hong-jung, the General Secretary leading the Korean Christian Council (NCCK), a progressive Protestant coalition organization, has expressed his intention to resign. It is reported that he offered his resignation as a way to resolve tensions arising from signs of denominational departures over the enactment of the Anti-Discrimination Act.
According to the Protestant community on the 20th, Pastor Lee Hong-jung, the General Secretary of NCCK, announced his intention to step down after the NCCK Executive Committee meeting scheduled for the 20th of next month.
Lee Hong-jeong, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK). [Image source=Yonhap News]
In a document sent to the Korean Methodist Church, Pastor Lee explained, "While sympathizing with the sincere faith-based concerns regarding the comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Act and homosexuality issues, we failed to create a public discourse process to build a more advanced social consensus." This is interpreted to mean that the divergent opinions within the Christian community regarding the Anti-Discrimination Act were not properly gathered.
Currently, the Christian community is divided over the Anti-Discrimination Act. The progressive camp supports its enactment, while the conservative camp opposes it, claiming it is a "law protecting homosexuality and punishing opponents of homosexuality."
The Korean Methodist Church is one of the core denominations of NCCK but is currently a member of the Christian Council of Korea. However, recently, as NCCK took a stance supporting the enactment of the Anti-Discrimination Act, discussions are underway about withdrawing from NCCK and the World Council of Churches (WCC), a cooperative organization of NCCK.
Previously, Pastor Lee Hong-jung’s personal opinion that "the Anti-Discrimination Act is legislation that guarantees the political life rights of socially vulnerable and minority groups" also appears to have had an influence.
However, NCCK maintains that, considering the nature of the organization as a consultative body of multiple denominations, it has not officially established a position on the Anti-Discrimination Act.
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