UCCK Taps Pastor Lee Kiyong as Next Representative President; First Competitive Election Breaks Rotation System

Won 8 of 14 votes, defeating Pastor Kwon Wiyoung
Disputes over denominational rotation convention... UCCK to codify it in bylaws
Set to take office after approval at the December 4 general assembly

Lee Kiyong, president of the General Assembly of the Korea Evangelical Holiness Church (KEHC), has been nominated to become the next representative president of the United Christian Churches of Korea (UCCK), a major association of Protestant denominations in South Korea. This is the first time since the UCCK was founded in 2017 that it has chosen a candidate through a competitive election, breaking with the customary rotation among denominations.

Lee Kiyong, president of the General Assembly of the Korea Evangelical Holiness Church and senior pastor of Singil Church, has been named a candidate for representative chairman of the United Christian Churches of Korea (UCCK) for its 10th term. He is expected to take office after receiving approval at the regular general assembly on December 4.

The UCCK announced on November 13 that it had selected Lee Kiyong, senior pastor of Singil Church, as its candidate for representative president for its 10th term at the 9th-6th meeting of its standing vice presidents, held on November 12 at the UCCK conference room in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

That day, the nominations committee recommended two candidates: Lee and Kwon Wi-young, president of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Tonghap). The standing vice presidents discussed at length whether to endorse a single candidate, but, failing to reach an agreement, decided the nominee by vote.

In the first round of voting, neither candidate received the two-thirds majority required for election. In the second round, Lee received 8 votes from the 14 standing vice presidents, defeating Kwon, who received 6.

The contest stemmed from disagreements over the convention the UCCK has followed in selecting its representative president. The UCCK has divided its member denominations into Groups A, B, C, and D according to the number of churches they have, and has maintained a system under which major denominations take turns appointing the representative president. However, the rotation system is not codified in the bylaws, sparking controversy during this year's candidate selection process.

Church leaders had initially expected the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Tonghap) to take its turn in appointing the representative president for the 10th term. However, some senior church leaders offered the position to Lee without first coordinating with Kwon, resulting in two candidates being nominated. The nominations committee considered both candidates' positions and left the final decision to the standing vice presidents.

The UCCK decided to pursue codifying the rotation system for representative presidents in its bylaws to address institutional issues that emerged during this selection process. Current representative president Kim Jeongseok asked the Bylaws Revision Committee to review the matter, and the UCCK plans to prepare a revision proposal next year.

Kwon, who lost the election, accepted the result and agreed to serve as a co-representative president. Shin Jinsu, president of the General Assembly of the Kosin Presbyterian Church, was also recommended as a candidate for co-representative president. An additional co-representative president candidate from Group B, to which Lee belongs, will be selected following consultations among its member denominations.

Born in 1968, Lee graduated from the Department of English at Busan University of Foreign Studies and the graduate school of theology at Seoul Theological University, and completed doctoral coursework at Fuller Theological Seminary in the United States. He has served as senior pastor of Singil Church in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, since February 2017 and took office as president of the 120th General Assembly of the KEHC this May.

After the standing vice presidents' meeting on November 20 and a report to the executive committee, Lee will take office for a one-year term as representative president if approved at the 10th regular general assembly, to be held on December 4 at the Korea Church Centennial Memorial Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.