On June 19, the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK Daeshin Suho, moderator Rev. Yang Chi-ho) held a press conference at its general assembly headquarters in Dongan-gu, Anyang, Gyeonggi-do, and announced, “The court has ruled that the former PCK Daeshin’s decision made at the 50th general assembly on September 14, 2015, to merge with PCK Baekseok, is void. This court decision is meaningful in that it guarantees a correct precedent for denominational mergers.” PCK Daeshin (moderator Rev. Lee Jong-seung), however, said that it will appeal immediately on the ground that the court misunderstood the relevant facts and legal principles.
PCK Daeshin Suho moderator Rev. Yang Chi-ho (standing, in photo), said, “We do not oppose the two denominations’ merger itself, but from the beginning we’ve been insisting on a merger according to legitimate and justifiable procedures, and to ignore this will inevitably cause repeated division and pain… We filed the lawsuit not to dismantle the merger, but to restore order to our denomination, which has fallen into confusion due to the illegality.”
On September 14, 2015, while the 50th general assembly was being held, members of the Daeshin Reform Council rallied outside the venue in opposition to the merger, and later claimed, “This unilaterally merged general assembly, ignoring law and principle, is invalid from its origin.” The reform group remained outside of the merger, under the name “PCK Daeshin Suho (defense)” General Assembly.
Article and photo by reporters Gu Jachang & Sangmok Shin (smshin@kmib.co.kr), with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)
Full Story in Korean:
“2015년 백석과 대신, 통합 결의는 무효”: 대신수호측 기자회견
Related Article 1:
[2016 Denominational General Assemblies] PCK Daeshin Confirms Its True Unity
Related Article 2:
PCK Baekseok-Daeshin Merge as 3rd Big Denomination “PCK Daeshin”
“Merger decision in 2015 between Baekseok and Daeshin is void”
2017-06-20 17:12
