News&Joy

Overview

News&Joy is an internet newspaper that reports on Korean Protestantism. It aims to be a press outlet independent of ecclesiastical power (the power of denominations) and financial power (the power of money). It is therefore funded by small donations from individuals and churches rather than by denominations or megachurches. Because it reports critically on church corruption, it has been called a "church reform press." Conservative denominations, however, have criticized its editorial stance as excessively progressive.

Founding and History

• In August 2000, four reporters in their thirties founded the outlet, among them Kim Jong-hee, a former reporter for a church newspaper. They said that editorial censorship they had experienced at the official organ of a large denomination prompted the founding.
• Beginning in March 2001, it also published a print edition. In 2005 it merged operations with the Christian magazine Gospel and Context (Bogeum-gwa Sanghwang) and sought to reorganize as an incorporated association.
• In February 2007, News&Joy USA (Miju Newsnjoy), which covers Korean American churches, was launched in New York.
• In 2016, Kang Do-hyun joined as publisher and served as co-CEO with Kim Jong-hee. Kim left the company in the fall of that year.
• In 2020, marking its twentieth anniversary, it adopted a new mission statement: "an independent press that monitors church power, listens to marginalized voices, and supports healthy faith."
• After Kang Do-hyun stepped down for health reasons, Lee Yong-pil, a former reporter, served as acting CEO and became CEO in 2023.

Major Activities

Its principal subjects include hereditary succession in churches, sexual violence by church leaders (sexual violence in the church), church finance corruption such as embezzlement by senior pastors, and church disputes. It also regularly publishes the voices of people marginalized within the church, such as sexual minorities, women, and workers. For this reason it has sometimes been called the "minority report" of the Korean church world.

Organization and Operations

News&Joy is an independent outlet with no member denominations or parent organization. Its articles are written by full-time reporters and the editorial staff. Most of its operating costs are covered by regular donations. According to one report, after it published coverage of minorities, some churches withdrew their support, and donations fell by 29 million won over two months. It began as a joint-stock company, and its organizational form subsequently changed several times. Around 2008, some church media outlets took issue with this, criticizing it for soliciting donations while presenting itself as an incorporated association or an NGO (non-governmental organization) when it was in fact a sole proprietorship.

Controversies and Assessment

Supporters regard News&Joy as an alternative press free from ecclesiastical and financial power, crediting it with exposing church problems that other church media seldom cover.

Criticism from conservative church circles has been persistent. Around 2018, it was reported that the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Hapdong) had decided to investigate the "anti-Christian character" of News&Joy. The Presbyterian Church in Korea (Hapshin) was also reported to have investigated News&Joy through its committee on heresy countermeasures. The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin) reportedly concluded that News&Joy advocates homosexuality and therefore cannot be accepted as a legitimate press outlet. Christian Today reported allegations that a particular political faction stood behind News&Joy. News&Joy filed a complaint against Christian Today, but according to Christian Today, prosecutors declined to indict. For its part, News&Joy has countered such criticism by pointing to its mission of monitoring church power and speaking for marginalized voices.