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| Yoido Full Gospel Church Senior Pastor Lee Young-hoon gesticulates during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in the church, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
By Oh Young-jin
Yoido Full Gospel Church has a congregation of more than half a million, the largest in the world. Its leader, Senior Pastor Lee Young-hoon, comes off as being different from what is expected of megachurch pastors, being down-to-earth, progressive and conservative in ideology and suggesting unique approaches to key social challenges.
All told, he wants to make a church not just for churchgoers but rejuvenate it as an active, healthy member of society. To say the least, it is a challenge in any modern society that is increasingly alienated from worshipping to the point it is regarded as a personal pastime.
He has already steered the church toward and been involved in a wide range of issues, from North Korea, redistribution and procreation, to renewal of the church and politics.
For the 50-minute interview at his office ― spartan except for the wealth of books on shelves and his desk ― he discussed those issues, sometimes catching the interviewer by surprise over his level of candor.
The conversation with a pastor sometimes felt as one with a sociologist with the goal of tackling the challenges of the times.
About the North, Lee talked about the resumption of a 10-year-project to build a big hospital in Pyongyang devoted to heart diseases. He said this is the result of the ongoing inter-Korean detente.
Calling it a humanitarian effort, Lee, however, said the North should recognize freedom of religion, not its current token, fig-leaf type but fully fledged.
To Lee, that is the realization of human rights he firmly believes in and that could be a real baptism of fire for the North Korean regime that has denied this basic right. And, momentarily, one can't help but think whether the North Korean regime can survive the full bore of this transition from communist dictatorship.
He showed little tolerance to the scandalous father-to-son bequeath of leadership in mega-church leadership, which resembles that in chaebol. He sees the practice, as an act of giving the whole of Christianity a bad name.
"The church doesn't belong to one individual," he said. "It belongs to God, the congregation."
He said the problem would be solved if others followed his existing church governance rules that ban succession by blood and call for elections by congregants. He was elected and has been in his position since 2008.
About the dwindling population, one of the biggest challenges to the nation, he suggested the key lies in the prevention of abortions, of which hundreds of thousands are performed every year.
He believes it is possible to avoid making this issue one of reproductive freedom vs. pro-life through government intervention. That is allocating some of the billions of dollars spent on propping up the population more directly for parenting and child support. The result would be fewer abortions, he thinks.
Regarding rich people's obligations, he proposed chaebol owners give a third of their wealth to society to help the underprivileged, which would gain them praise and respect.
About lawmakers and the political paralysis, he gave the example of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, where during his recent visit he saw full cooperation on key national issues, regardless of political and religious differences. He spoke during a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Israel's foundation.
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| Pastor Lee offers unique solutions to some key challenges to the Korean society. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
The following are excerpts from Tuesday's interview. Lee is scheduled to make a keynote speech at the Korean-American Pastors/Leaders Prayer Luncheon on July 10 in New York.
Question: Yoido Full Gospel Church is keenly interested from a humanitarian perspective in improving the life of North Koreans. How does the current detente on the Korean Peninsula affect it?
Answer: Nine years ago, our plan to build a hospital for cardiology and heart surgery was suspended. Back then, we were building an eight-story hospital with 280 beds near the Taedong River in Pyongyang. The North was anxious to have it because both Kim Il-sung (the founder of the North) and his son, Kim Jong-il (the father of the current leader Kim Jong-un), died of heart problems.
If the project resumes now, we can finish up in six months. The North now wants to have it two ways _ one as originally planned for heart treatment and the other for training doctors. President Moon Jae-in gave his blessing, so when the situation gets better, equipment will move in from the U.S. and staff will be forthcoming from among retired doctors at Yonsei Severance Hospital as well. They will stay six months to one year. This is our crucial missionary project in the North.
Supporting the North in a humanitarian way is never a losing game. When unification comes, the fruit will belong to us. Then, when our economic power and the North's manpower are put together, it would be the world's fifth-largest economy. Of course, we shouldn't hurry nor should we go slowly.
Q: The income disparity is so severe that it has become a major social issue of contention. What can be done about it?
A: Starbucks has grown globally in a short period of time. One reason is its philosophy of serving and sharing that is put into practice. For example, it gives its employees low and high stocks so they can get dividends when the company does well. For part-time workers, medical insurance is provided. So its members work proudly.
Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, the world's richest people, have joined a campaign to donate half of their wealth, challenging others to follow. Why don't we have one from our rich people? If one chaebol gives away even one-third of what they have it would solve a lot of what are viewed as intractable problems such as income inequality and the consequent anger held by have-nots against haves. Just think about the enormous respect the chaebol would have for their good-neighborly deeds.
Q: Our birthrate is one of the lowest in the world and subsequently we are facing a population cliff.
A: We are spending billions of dollars to prop up our declining population trend without success. Say when you give birth, there is a government system that helps raise the child. If the government pays 10 million won per newborn and there are 800,000 babies born every year, it would only amount to 8 trillion won, only a fraction of the budget earmarked for that purpose. Then, when those babies grow up to graduate high school, the government again would give 20 million won to start their independent life. I made a proposal to that effect to the government but I have not heard back yet.
The annual number of newborns dropped to 375,000, a vertical drop from the peak of 1.2 million. I am practicing what I proposed to the government. In our church, we offer 500,000 won to families when they have their first newborn, 1 million won for the second and 2 million for the third. We have given out 2.2 billion won for that purpose.
Then there is the issue of abortion. Officially, data says about 170,000 abortions take place each year but the real number may be three or four times that. There are 4,800 people killed in traffic accidents a year and each day sees 35 to 40 suicides. If we dissuade people from abortions by providing them with support or help prevent suicides and traffic accidents, our population problem could be significantly eased.
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| Yoido Full Gospel Church Senior Pastor Lee Young-hoon speaks during a ceremony marking the church's 60th anniversary. Courtesy of Yoido Full Gospel Church |
Q: Religion has been alienated from people. Some big churches treat God's business as a for-profit family business. How do you see these religious chaebol?
A: The church has a rule for selecting its leader not by family succession but by the consensus of the elders representing the congregation. Follow it and that would be the end of the problem. Also, it is natural that there is tax where there is income. Since 1978, we have paid taxes for our income. Last year, it became a big issue but the reason was not we were trying to avoid paying taxes but because of political intervention by using tax probes to corner churches for instance.
Q: Religion should be rejuvenated to meet the new needs of the people. How do you respond to that?
A: Last year marked the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's Reformation drive. As long as it exists, the church shouldn't stop reforming itself. That is its calling. Conservatives want the status quo, while progressives move on. The confrontation is inevitable and serious. Everything should and could change except for essential parts of religious faith. Our churches are not up to the task. Acknowledging it means we need to go back and work toward change.
