Manmin Central Church is a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Christian church founded in Seoul,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

in 1982 by Jaerock Lee and is one of the largest churches in Korea. Manmin means ‘all creation; all the nations; all the people.’ Manmin Central church claims that they have the largest number of churches in Korea, and that they have 120,000 members throughout the world. 081108 Bishop Myong-Ho Cheong and UN Secretary Ban

081108 Bishop Myong-Ho Cheong and UN Secretary Ban

Manmin Church publishes Manmin News Paper, Manmin Magazine, and has a TV broadcasting station called GCN. Manmin Church was led by Pastor Lee until his death in prison in December 2023. On December 31, 2023, after the death of Lee Jae-rock, the leader of the Manmin Central Church, due to colon cancer, the church appointed his third daughter, Pastor Lee Soo-jin, as the head pastor. On the morning of January 19, 2025, Lee Bok-nim, the widow of Pastor Lee Jae-rock, passed away, marking the loss of another key figure who had been a pillar of support for the Manmin Central Church.

Christian activities

The church has organized a praise special orchestra entitled "Nissi". Nissi is one of the most important ministries in the Manmin Church and has been invited and performed in the National Breakfast Prayer Meetings, goodwill concerts at foreign embassies, and a variety of charitable events hosted by social and cultural organizations. Manmin church participated in various Korean Christian activities, including events surrounding the 50th anniversary of the

division of Korea The division of Korea began at the end of World War II on 2 September 1945, with the establishment of a Soviet occupation zone and a US occupation zone. These zones developed into separate governments, named the Democratic People's Republic of ...

and the FIFA World Cup in 2002. In 1997, the church choir participated in Choir Festival in commemoration of

Far East Broadcasting Company Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) is an international Christian radio network. From 1960 to 1994, FEBC owned and operated shortwave radio station KGEI in San Francisco, California. History FEBC was established on December 20, 1945, months ...

's 41st anniversary together with other churches. In 1998, the senior pastor of the church joined The Korea Lawyers Mission Association. According to the Manmin News, the official newsletter of the church, 12 ambassadors to Korea partook in service at Manmin Central Church on March 7, 2010. The church has sent missionaries to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Criticism

The church was ejected from the

Christian Council of Korea The Christian Council of Korea (CCK, ) is a national evangelical alliance, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. The CCK is one of the alliances of churches in South Korea, comprising 69 denominations and 20 Christian organizations, which to ...

in April 1999 over a "heretical claim" allegedly made by Jaerock Lee in July 1998, when he stated that he was "sinless and exempted from dying". In 1999,

Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC; ) is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. Its flagship terrestrial television station MBC TV broadcasts as channel 11. MBC News Now broadcasts as channel 12. Establish ...

, a South Korean TV broadcaster, aired ''

PD Note ''Producer's Note'' or ''PD Note'' (Korean language: PD수첩) is an investigative journalism program on MBC in South Korea. Cases covered Hwang affair ''PD Note'' investigated Hwang Woo-suk in 2005, while he was still a star researcher who ...

'', a documentary program criticizing Jaerock Lee. Members of the Manmin Central Church forcibly entered the TV station and cut off the power supply in the control room, interrupting the programme several times. Meanwhile, other supporters, numbering between 1,500 and 2,000 according to different sources, blocked off nearby roads. Manmin Central Church members later filed a lawsuit against the TV station. Three church leaders and eight members of the church were sentenced to jail for between two and a half years and three years for their roles in the protests. On November 22, 2018, Jaerock Lee was sentenced to 15 years in prison on 42 counts of sexual harassment and sexual assault against eight of his followers. According to the

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

Central District Court, the victims could not resist his advances "due to their absolute faith in the infallibility of the accused."

Growth

The Manmin Church claims to have more than 120,000 members and 9,000 domestic and overseas branch churches throughout the globe, and has so far commissioned more than 103

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

to 22 countries, including the United States,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, Japan,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. MMTC (Manmin Missionary Training Centre) was also established to provide cross-cultural training program and Ministry opportunities for world evangelism. In 1993, Manmin Central Church was selected as one of the “World's Top 50 Churches” by the Christian World magazine (US). Many celebrities such as former prime minister of Korea

Han Duck-soo Han Duck-soo (; born 18June 1949) is a South Korean diplomat, economist, and politician who served as the acting president of South Korea in December 2024 and from March to May 2025 and as the prime minister of South Korea from 2007 to 2008 an ...

were invited to Manmin church's anniversary.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20100317150409/http://www.manmin.org/English/ – Manmin Central Church website * * {{coord, 37.27582, 127.44836, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:KR, display=title Protestantism in South Korea Protestant denominations established in the 20th century Christian organizations established in 1982 1982 establishments in South Korea