United Christian Churches of Korea

Overview

The United Christian Churches of Korea is an ecumenical body whose members are Protestant denominations. It describes itself as a "denomination-centered union," in which denominations, rather than individuals or individual churches, are the constituent units. It is an incorporated association under the jurisdiction of South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. According to its articles of incorporation, its purpose is to unite denominations that believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God and confess Jesus Christ as the only Savior, so that they may cooperate in proclaiming the gospel. Those who led its founding stated that the combined membership of the participating denominations accounts for roughly 95 percent of Korean Protestantism.

Founding and History

In the early 2010s, several denominations broke away from the Christian Council of Korea (CCK) and established the Communion of Churches in Korea (CCIK), splitting Korea's conservative ecumenical bodies in two. Factors cited as contributing to the split include the CCK's lifting of heresy designations against certain denominations and individuals, as well as allegations surrounding its presidential elections. The Council of Korean Church Denominational Heads, a gathering of the leaders of major denominations, sought to merge the two bodies. When the merger made little progress, the council resolved in late 2016 to establish a new, denomination-centered ecumenical body.

• January 9, 2017: A thanksgiving service marking the launch of the "Federation of United Christian Churches of Korea" was held at Chungdong First Methodist Church in Seoul.
• August 16, 2017: The body agreed to merge with the CCIK and held an inaugural general assembly under the name "Korea Christian Union." This arrangement, however, did not last. Many of the denominations that had belonged to the CCIK are reported to have subsequently moved to the UCCK.
• December 5, 2017: The body held its first general assembly under the name "United Christian Churches of Korea."
• December 2018: It received authorization from the Seoul Metropolitan Government to establish an incorporated association.
• 2020: Supervisory jurisdiction over the corporation was transferred to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The body is led by co-presidents drawn from among the moderators of several denominations. At its founding, the co-presidents were Kim Sun-kyu, Lee Sung-hee, Jun Myung-goo, and Jung Seo-young. At the first general assembly, they were Jeon Gye-heon, Choi Ki-hak, Jun Myung-goo, and Lee Young-hoon. Later presidents have included Kim Jong-hyuk (moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Korea [HapDong]) and Kim Jung-seok (presiding bishop of the Korean Methodist Church).

Principal Activities

• It issues Christmas and Easter messages and publishes statements on social issues as a representative voice of the Protestant community.
• At the 2020 thanksgiving service marking the transfer of its supervisory jurisdiction, it pledged that the church would fulfill its role in addressing national and social challenges and in the cause of peaceful reunification.
• In 2024, with sponsorship from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, it held the "Rally Commemorating the 140th Anniversary of Korean Christianity" at Yoido Full Gospel Church.
• It has taken part in discussions with the CCK and the CCIK on merging the ecumenical bodies.

Member Denominations

The member denominations and their number may change from one term to the next. Around the time of its launch, it was reported that 16 of the 23 denominations in the Council of Korean Church Denominational Heads had agreed to participate. Denominations that have held the presidency or led major events include the Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong), the Presbyterian Church of Korea (TongHap), the Korean Methodist Church, the Korea Assemblies of God, the Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapShin), the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Baekseok Daeshin), the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Gaehyuk), and the Korea Jesus Holiness Church.

Controversy and Assessment

At the time of the launch, the CCIK opposed the establishment of a new body, noting that it had only recently elected a new president. Some pastors within the Korean Methodist Church, which had voted to join, also objected. Critics argued that, contrary to the goal of uniting the existing bodies, the effort had merely added one more ecumenical organization. The UCCK, for its part, maintains that through an ecumenical movement centered on the institutional church and its official denominations, it has attained substantive and legal representative standing. Merger talks with the CCK took place on several subsequent occasions but bore no fruit, owing in part to disputes over leadership, and some within the Korean church have observed that the division among the ecumenical bodies has become entrenched.