NCCK New General Secretary Pastor Kim Jong-saeng Inauguration

Elected with 97 out of 168 Votes

Kim Jong-saeng (66) was inaugurated on the 3rd as the new General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK), a progressive Protestant ecumenical organization.

On the same day, Kim was elected at the 1st extraordinary general assembly of the 71st term held at the Korea Christian Federation Hall in Jongno-gu, Seoul, receiving 97 votes in favor out of 168 voters, which is a majority. Kim ran as the sole candidate. There were 69 votes against and 2 invalid votes.

At the inauguration ceremony held immediately after the election, Kim stated, "Marking the 100th anniversary of the National Council of Churches in Korea, we will create various dialogue platforms to gather the confessions and expectations of the Korean church and realize the ecumenical spirit and values." Ecumenical refers to church unity beyond denominations and sects.

New General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK), Pastor Kim Jong-saeng [Photo provided by NCCK]

He mentioned resolving financial issues as a task. He said, "Rather than betraying faith and conscience, I will distance myself from Mammon (an idol opposing God) and choose not the broad path but the narrow path of the Lord."

Kim graduated from Daejeon Theological University and served as an education evangelist at Nangwol Church in Daejeon before becoming the senior pastor at Daejeon Munhwa Church in 1991. He has held positions such as Secretary-General of the Korea Church Service Corps, senior pastor of Onyang First Church, and member of the NCCK Justice and Peace Committee.

In 2018, he served as the executive director of the "House of Light and Salt," established with a 5 billion KRW donation from Myeongseong Church to support financially struggling churches. However, some criticized this, opposing his election as General Secretary by arguing that Pastor Kim Sam-hwan supported the hereditary succession of the senior pastor position to his son, Pastor Kim Hana.

Previously, Pastor Kim Jong-saeng refuted this by saying, "I have regrets about hereditary succession," and explained that at the time of Pastor Kim Sam-hwan’s retirement, he was serving as a senior pastor at another church, so "I was not present at the site of the succession." He also emphasized that through his connection with Pastor Kim Sam-hwan, "I take pride in having partially directed Myeongseong Church’s resources to the vulnerable parts of our society." He announced that he resigned from the executive director position of the "House of Light and Salt" at the end of last month.

Pastor Kim Sam-hwan retired in December 2015 after serving as senior pastor for about 30 years and growing Myeongseong Church into a megachurch. However, about five years later, in January 2021, his son Pastor Kim Hana took over as senior pastor and chairman of the church council, sparking controversy over hereditary succession.