News

Posts tagged:

South Korea

Korean Lutherans reelect president

LCK President Eunseop Kim preaches during the installation service.

SOUTH KOREA – In late 2021, the Lutheran Church in Korea (LCK) reelected Rev. Eunseop Kim to serve as its president for another term.

The decision came during the church’s 51st General Assembly, which was a hybrid online/in-person event held in Seoul from October 7-8, 2021. Rev. Kim is the LCK’s eighth president. He was reelected to a four-year term.

An installation service for President Kim took place on November 1. In his address, he called on the church not to be distracted from its primary mission and wander off on other paths. “The church must travel the right path,” he said, “not the wrong path, under any circumstances.”

“The church must follow God’s Word,” he continued. “The road that Christians are to go is not a wide road that can be travelled comfortably but instead a narrow road.” We must follow Christ where He leads us in His Word—like Abraham who left his homeland to follow God’s call, like Peter who left his boat to follow Christ, like Paul who left his place of comfort in Jewish society to go where Jesus led.

“[Paul] didn’t look to what was behind,” the president explained, “but instead to what was in front, and he ran. He ran solely toward the reward which God had given him.” President Kim explained that he wished to follow the same path. “And this is not only the way a church president should travel,” he said. “It is the way for all Christians, and we will go together.”

LCK President Eunseop Kim with some of those present for his installation service.

He pledged to work alongside the church as together they follow the road. “I hope that you will encourage and support me so that I do not fall as we walk together,” he said. “Let us travel together the road where the light is visible and life comes alive.”

The Lutheran Church in Korea is a member church of the International Lutheran Council, a global association of confessional Lutheran church bodies.

——————–

Lutheran Church in Korea elects new President

President Chul-Hwan Kim

President Chul-Hwan Kim

KOREA – The Lutheran Church in Korea (LCK) has elected Rev. Dr. Chul-Hwan Kim to a five-year term as President at its national convention in Busan, October 9-10. He was installed November 4, 2013.

Prior to the election, Rev. Dr. Kim served as a pastor of Bethel Church in Seoul and as a professor at the LCK’s Luther University. In addition to his studies in Korea, Dr. Kim completed his S.T.M and Ph.D. at Concordia Seminary (St. Louis, Missouri) and Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary (Fort Wayne, Indiana), respectively. Dr. Kim was also a contributor to The Lutheran Study Bible, published by Concordia Publishing House in 2009.

“On behalf of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) I wanted to bring you greetings and congratulations on your election as the President of the Lutheran Church in Korea,” wrote Rev. Dr. Albert Collver (ILC Executive Secretary) in a letter to President Kim shortly following his installation. “May Christ richly bless you and your church, providing you with every grace to accomplish the task the Lord has given to you.”

President Kim succeeds Rev. Dr. Hyun-Sub Um, who served as LCK President from 2005-2013. During President Um’s tenure, the LCK hosted the 2009 triennial World Conference of the International Lutheran Council in Seoul.

———————

Signup for ILC Updates