Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.
Church court dismisses pastor's appeal against suspension for LGBTQ blessing
Rev. Lee Dong-hwan, the pastor of Glory Jeil Church in Suwon who was suspended from duty after holding a "blessing prayer" at the 2019 Queer Culture Festival in Incheon, poses during an interview at The Korea Times office in Seoul, April 23. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
By Park Ji-won
Rev. Lee pledged to take legal action and protest against the “unfair” decisions
By Park Ji-won
The Korean Methodist Church's (KMC) ecclesiastical court dismissed an appeal by Rev. Lee Dong-hwan, a Methodist pastor in Suwon south of Seoul, to have an order suspending him from duty for two years overturned. The court originally suspended Lee for holding a “blessing prayer” at the 2019 Queer Culture Festival in Incheon. Lee criticized the decision, Friday, claiming that it was “unfair,” and pledged to take legal action in a civil court to overturn the suspension.
According to media reports and insider sources, members of a committee of the ecclesiastical court decided to dismiss the appeal as Lee failed to meet a deadline of paying 14 million won ($12,253) in hearing costs within 14 days which is specified under the court's regulations. These stipulate that anyone wishing to file an appeal against a court ruling must pay related costs within 14 days to be eligible.
The decision came after the church delayed holding an appeal since its ruling given in October last year. The ecclesiastical court concluded then that Lee's blessing prayer “supported and agreed with homosexuality,” thus violating the church's Book of Doctrine and Discipline, and imposed the third-highest punishment in a five-tier system.
Lee, who had argued that offering blessings was a pastor's duty and therefore could not be considered be a sin, claimed the lower ecclesiastical court held unlawful proceedings by having a closed-door hearing, and appealed to the church's higher court following the initial ruling. Lee also insisted that the delay in the proceedings for an appeal was a violation of the KMC rules as the court is obliged to hold this within two months. He has filed a petition with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea asking for the right to be judged by a civil court.
During an online conference held Friday, Lee said, “It is absurd to dismiss the case after receiving court costs and having two court proceedings … The committee made a ruling that ignored the dignity of numerous sexual minorities in the church.”
Choi Jung-kyu, a lawyer for Lee, added, “The decision was unfair … There is no rule in the Book of Doctrine and Discipline to dismiss a case citing the delay of paying ecclesiastical court costs. Even society's laws only dismiss a case when the appellant fails to pay court costs, not simply is delayed in making the payment.” Choi also claimed that the ecclesiastical court was punishing Lee by robbing him of his rights.
Lee and his supporters plan to take all legal action possible to nullify the suspension, and to abolish the “discriminative law” in the Book of Doctrine and Discipline. They will also launch an organization for sexual minority Methodists.