Schisms in the Korean Presbyterian Church

Background

After holding its first General Assembly in 1912, Korean Presbyterianism existed as a single denomination. It suffered a deep wound, however, when the 27th General Assembly resolved in 1938 to endorse Shinto shrine worship. After liberation from Japanese rule, conflict grew over three issues: how to deal with ministers who had participated in shrine worship, whether to accept biblical criticism (the scholarly analysis of the Bible using historical and literary methods), and how to relate to churches abroad. As a result, three schisms occurred in the 1950s, dividing the Presbyterian Church into four denominations.

Course of Events

The 1952 Kosin Separation

The so-called "released saints," Christians who had been imprisoned for refusing shrine worship, insisted that the church be reformed and renewed. In 1946 Han Sang-dong and Park Yune-sun founded Koryo Theological Seminary in Busan. This issue split the Kyungnam Presbytery in two. The General Assembly that reconvened in Busan in 1951 seated the commissioners (representatives sent to the General Assembly) of the opposing presbytery, effectively expelling the Kosin faction from the Assembly. The 37th General Assembly in April 1952 likewise refused to seat the Kosin commissioners. In response, the Kyungnam (Legitimate) Presbytery organized the "General Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in Korea" in Jinju in September 1952, marking the beginning of the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin). The opposing side argued that shrine worship had been unavoidable under the circumstances of the time and that those who had nonetheless remained in the church to preserve it deserved recognition.

The 1953 Kijang Separation

The 37th General Assembly in 1952 refused to recognize graduates of Chosun Theological Seminary as candidates for the ministry. It also directed the Kyunggi Presbytery to remove Kim Chai-choon from office. In 1953 the 38th General Assembly declared Kim deposed from the ministry on the grounds that he had promoted the "theory of biblical fallibility" (the claim that the Bible may contain errors). Kim's supporters convened a separate "Legitimate 38th General Assembly" on June 10, 1953. This denomination adopted the name Presbyterian Church of Christ in Korea in 1954 and settled on the name Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea in 1961.

The 1959 Tonghap–Hapdong Split

Two factions clashed over membership in the World Council of Churches (WCC). The NAE faction, which opposed membership, criticized its opponents as theologically liberal and tolerant of communism. The ecumenical faction, which favored membership, emphasized cooperation with the worldwide church. Compounding the dispute were the "30 Million Hwan Incident," concerning the site of the General Assembly Theological Seminary, and a controversy over the election of commissioners from the Kyunggi Presbytery. When the 44th General Assembly broke down in 1959, the ecumenical faction convened a separate assembly the next day at Yondong Church in Seoul. The ecumenical faction subsequently became the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Tonghap), and the NAE faction became the General Assembly of Presbyterian Church in Korea (Hapdong). Kosin joined the Hapdong side in 1960 but later separated again.

Consequences and Impact

• In 1954 the 39th General Assembly rescinded the 1938 resolution endorsing shrine worship.
• The schisms were accompanied by a series of disputes over the ownership of church buildings and lawsuits among church members.
• When the Kosin General Assembly permitted members to bring lawsuits against one another in the civil courts in 1974, those who opposed the decision broke away and later became the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Koryo).
• Divisions continued thereafter. Numerous denominations each claim to be the successor of the original General Assembly and use the same name, "Presbyterian Church in Korea," distinguishing themselves from one another by abbreviations in parentheses.

Assessment

The Kosin side views its separation as the ouster from the General Assembly of a movement that sought repentance for shrine worship and the renewal of the church. In 2007 a former moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Tonghap) requested a pardon for Kim Chai-choon, arguing that his deposition had been procedurally flawed because it had not gone through the presbytery, and the Tonghap denomination reviewed the request. One study of the 1959 split identifies a long-standing conflict between Han Kyung-chik and Park Hyung-ryong as part of its background. The same study argues that the NAE faction violated parliamentary procedure at the Assembly and that American missionaries assisted the ecumenical faction. Others have pointed to the influence of regional origins, noting that many in the Hapdong faction came from South Pyongan and Hwanghae provinces, while many in the Tonghap faction came from North Pyongan Province.