Senior Pastor of Major Changwon Church Referred to Prosecution for Embezzling Hundreds of Millions in Church Funds

Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency. Photo by Lee Seryeong

The senior pastor of a large church in Changwon, Gyeongnam Province, has been referred to the prosecution on charges of embezzling hundreds of millions of won in church funds.

The Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency announced on January 9 that it had forwarded A, a man in his 50s and senior pastor of a large church in Masan, Changwon, to the prosecution without detention the previous day on charges of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

According to the police, A is accused of embezzling 520 million won from the church's collective property (shared assets).

The church conducted a special audit in April 2024 and, upon reviewing its financial records, discovered that approximately 2 billion won had been used without expenditure resolutions between 2021 and 2023. The church reported this to the police last year.

After a lengthy investigation, the police found that, of the reported amount, 520 million won had been spent without proper accounting purposes and was later redeposited into the church's bank account.

A police official stated, "We cannot provide further details, as the case has been handed over to the prosecution and the investigation is still ongoing."