BUSAN, South Korea – The imprisonment of South Korean Pastor Hyun-bo Son has sparked widespread controversy since September. It marked the first time in 78 years that South Korea arrested a pastor for speaking out against the government. Although released on probation, the case has drawn concern for potential erosion of religious freedom in the country.
CBN News visited the pastor at his church, the Segero Church, on the third Sunday since Pastor Son’s release after nearly five months behind bars. Now, back to his regular routine, he greeted newcomers and prayed for members before the worship service.
The service began with vibrant music, and what happened next you don’t see in many churches—a question and answer session with the pastor. Son asked the kids about the previous Sunday’s topic: separation of church and state.
One boy answered: “Separation of church and state means the state shouldn’t come into the church.”
Then a teenager explained, “If it hadn’t been established, the government could interfere with the church, and we wouldn’t be free to worship God according to our conscience.”
Pastor Son says this was the generation on his mind when he took a stand that led to his arrest. It led to a conviction of violating election law for interviewing a school superintendent candidate who supported biblical principles, instead of the government-backed candidate who promoted LGBTQ policies in the school curriculum.
The pastor explained further, “When the left-wing government came into power, freedom of religion is being suppressed. There is an amendment to the civil code that has been proposed in January, that states: If there are religious speech or beliefs related to politics, the government will be granted the power to disband, dissolve the church, and revoke the permit of the church. Investigations and inspections can be conducted without a warrant. And assets and properties of the church can be transferred to the government.”
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A congressman from Busan, Lee Jong-Wook, said, “This can be considered as religious persecution. I believe the church is a place of conscience and of our faith, and so there is no reason for the government to interfere with what the church can say and not, and so these rights have to be protected.”
Because of Pastor Son’s arrest, many church leaders say they’ve been awakened to the growing concerns over religious freedom. At a recent assembly, they rallied against what they describe as the government’s suppression of free speech and religious liberty. Leaders said the gathering was about protecting the right to live out and speak Biblical truth without fear of punishment from the government.
Here, Pastor Son encouraged church leaders not to fear going to jail for standing up for God’s Kingdom, adding he’s ready to give whatever it takes— even going back to prison.
Pastor Son also shared how God’s grace sustained him as he evangelized to 85 inmates and even managed to write a book in just three days.
He told CBN News, “I was able to evangelize inside the prison so that every Sunday, it didn’t look like a prison, but it looked like a sanctuary because all the other cells were worshipping God. I just got a letter from an inmate. The letter said it feels really empty, and he is disappointed that Pastor Son is not in the prison.”
Miracles happened outside the prison as well — like his sons being invited to Washington just days before the pastor’s sentencing.
Chance Son said, “One week before the trial, I got invited to the White House, and I was able to brief several teams at the White House State Department about my father’s case and situation — why my father has been targeted. Two days later, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea came to visit Vice President Vance. It was the first time in 41 years that a Korean Prime Minister visits the U.S., and my father’s case was mentioned in that meeting.”
That resulted in two representatives from the U.S. Consulate in South Korea showing up at the hearing, which may have added some pressure on the judge’s decision.
When asked why he did not look at his family during the hearings, Pastor Son replied, “Of course I miss my family, especially my grandchildren, but if I looked back and saw my grandchildren and my family, they would have weakened my heart. The point right now is to sacrifice and fight.”
“The Republic of Korea is a free nation. Thanks to the sacrifices of our forefathers and the Americans who fought in the Korean War, and the missionaries. But with a new left-leaning government, there are concerns that our children may be influenced by ideologies that contradict Biblical values and that can spread around the world. And so I pray that Christians in Korea, the United States, and around the world will stand together and fight for freedom…and continue shedding light on these issues through outlets like CBN. And so thank you for helping share this message. This is what we are fighting for.”
