Presbyterian Church of Korea (TongHap)


The Presbyterian Church of Korea, also known as Yejang Tonghap or just Tonghap, is a mainline Protestant denomination based in South Korea; it currently has the second largest membership of any Presbyterian denomination in the world.

History

Organization

Today, the Tonghap Presbyterian denomination has about 2.85 million members in 8,200 congregations.
As an ecumenical denomination, it maintains relations with the World Council of Churches and is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches It has a daughter denomination in the United States, the Korean Presbyterian Church in America, which was later renamed in 2009 the Korean [Presbyterian Church Abroad].
The denomination maintains seven colleges and theological seminaries to train its leaders:
  1. Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary
  2. Honam Theological University and Seminary
  3. Hanil University and Presbyterian Theological Seminary
  4. Youngnam Theological University and Seminary
  5. Daejon Theological Seminary
  6. Pusan Presbyterian Theological Seminary
  7. Seoul Jangshin University and Theological Seminary

    Controversies

In September 2024, former constitutional chairpersons of the denomination's General Assembly sparked controversy by issuing a statement requesting the removal of Article 28, Section 6 of Part 2 of the Constitution, commonly known as the "Anti-Succession Law." Their main argument was that the law limits the autonomy of individual churches in appointing their pastors. However, at the 109th General Assembly, the motion to abolish the 'Anti-Hereditary Succession Law' was rejected, confirming that the majority of the delegates opposed the privatization of churches through succession.
The presbytery trial regarding the adultery allegations against Rev. Kim Ui-sik, the former moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Korea, was dismissed. Additionally, the General Assembly Court decided not to issue an indictment against him, sparking controversy.