Myungsung Church's father-son succession denied

The Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK) court ruled against Myungsung Church on Tuesday regarding its controversial father-son pastoral succession.

The ruling reversed the denomination's decision last year which gave the megachurch the green light to go ahead with the selection of Rev. Kim Hana to succeed his father Rev. Kim Samhwan as head pastor.

"We, the court members, confirm that Myungsung Church's selection of Rev. Kim Hana to succeed his father will be nullified," Kang Heungku, the head of the court, told reporters after the hours-long deliberation.

Fourteen out of 15 PCK court members were known to have participated in the vote.

Kang, however, didn't unveil the voting results.

The ruling came nearly six hours after the court members began to deliberate the thorny issue Monday at the Korean Church Centennial Memorial Building in Central Seoul.

It was their second meeting to rule on the case after their first meeting on July 16 failed. The court members reportedly had a heated internal discussion before they cast their votes, causing the cancellation of the pre-scheduled press conference slated for 7 p.m. on Monday.

Activists who fought against nepotism in megachurches welcomed the decision, expressing hope that the ruling could inspire other big churches to stop the practice.

Kang Dongwon, head of the external affairs division of Myungsung Church, said in a media interview that the ruling was not something they expected. "We believe the ruling is not based on the denomination's law, so we cannot accept it," he said. "But we will release a statement explaining our position later."

The PCK's ruling came amid a slew of criticism against several megachurches where sons or other family members took over leadership of the church after the founder retired from the position of head pastor.

Myungsung Church has been mired in controversy since Rev. Kim succeeded his father Rev. Kim Samhwan as head pastor in 2017, two years after the founder retired. Rev. Kim Samhwan's move came over three decades after he founded the church in Seoul's eastern neighborhood of Myeongil-dong in 1980. The startup church grew quickly under senior Kim's leadership to reach its current 100,000 registered members.

In 2013, the PCK introduced a rule banning nepotism-based succession. It reads the spouse of a "retiring" pastor, his or her children or the spouses of the children are not allowed to take over.

Last year Myungsung Church's selection committee claimed Kim Jr. was selected two years after his father retired, thus this is not a violation of the church law. Its claim was initially accepted last year when the PCK deliberated the father-son succession.

Activists, however, presented a different interpretation of the rule, bringing the case again to the court, demanding it review the decision. This time, the PCK court sided with the revels.

All eyes are on whether the PCK banning the father-son pastoral succession will be able to put a brake on Korean megachurches' nepotistic practices.

Lee Jingu, director of the Korea Institute for Religion and Culture in Seoul, said he is pessimistic about the end of scion-based leadership succession, noting there is a loophole of the denomination's ruling.

"If Myungsung Church leaves the PCK denomination, the church doesn't need to comply with the denomination's ruling," he said.

Lee said the megachurch's possible departure will deal a blow to the Presbyterian denomination, considering it is the single-most influential church inside the denomination.

Thus, he said, it's hard to say the PCK court's ruling against the father-son succession would have a profound impact on the practice of other megachurches.

Some speculate proponents of the father-son succession inside the church could request the court review the case once again.