Court dismisses lawsuit filed by pastor disciplined by church for praying blessing for LGBTQ people at queer festival

Pastor Lee Dong-hwan speaks in front of reporters at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on August 21. Reporter Jung Ji-yoon

The court dismissed a lawsuit filed by Pastor Lee Dong-hwan, who was disciplined by the church for “two years of suspension” for praying a blessing for LGBTQ people at a queer festival in 2019. It ruled that the pastor's suspension period had already ended, so there is no real benefit of the lawsuit, and no procedural defect in the disciplinary action is found.

The Seoul Central District Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by Pastor Lee to nullify his two-year suspension from the Christian Methodist Church on August 21. A dismissal is issued when it is determined that the requirements of the lawsuit are not met and there is no reason to review the contents.

Lee was put on trial by the Methodist Church after holding a blessing ceremony at the Incheon Queer Culture Festival in August 2019. The Gyeonggi Provincial Council's General Assembly Tribunal of the Methodist Church sentenced Lee to two years of suspension in October 2020, judging that he violated Article 3.8 of the “Methodist Doctrine and Discipline,” a punishment clause for "act of favoring or sympathizing with homosexuality."

Calling the decision “unjust,” Lee filed a confirmation litigation of nullity with the court in February last year. The court first accepted the Methodist Church's claim that "the doctrine of the denomination cannot be subject to judicial review because it is only a matter of interpretation, not legal relations." It then found that “the period of suspension has already ended and (the lawsuit) cannot be viewed as a direct remedy to remove the legal insecurity of the plaintiff's status.” The court also found that there were no procedural defects in the suspension that would render it invalid.

The tribunal also recognized that Lee's freedom of conscience, religion, and expression was limited, but it also recognized the constitutional right of religious organizations to autonomy. “To disregard the collective will of the Methodist Church's members and declare the suspension invalid would ignore the unique nature of the denomination, intervene in religious beliefs, and jeopardize the denomination,” it said.

During the trial, the Methodist Church gave the punishment of excommunication, the most severe disciplinary action, against Lee.

The church cited Lee's blessing ceremony at the Incheon Queer Culture Festival in 2019 and in 2020, and his attendance at the Seoul Queer Culture Festival in 2021 and 2022.

In March, Lee also filed a separate lawsuit to invalidate his expulsion from the church, but the court ruled that it would be futile to do so.

Apart from the lawsuit, Anyang Branch of the Suwon District Court on July 18 granted Lee's request for a preliminary injunction to suspend the effectiveness of his excommunication. This was the same day the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples should be recognized as dependents for health insurance. Until the case is resolved, the effectiveness will be temporarily suspended.

“Unlike today's ruling, same-sex couples were confirmed as dependents in July, and the number of participants in the Queer Festival is increasing every year,” Choi Sae-yan, a lawyer told reporters shortly after the ruling. ”These changes mean that the legal status of LGBTQ people should be guaranteed as a right, not as a matter of pro or con, and today's court made an unacceptable judgment.”

“The disciplinary action I received is used as a basis for disciplinary action against other pastors, and the end of the two-year suspension period does not mean that the lawsuit is not profitable," Pastor Lee said. ”I will appeal to a higher court to stop the violence and correct the law established by a group with inferior awareness.”

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.