The church always has to reflect the defining spirit of an era, and empowering people to embrace differences is the zeitgeist Protestant churches should seek now, according to the Rev. Kim Sang-keun.

Kim, 86, is a prominent church elder who leads an ad hoc committee helping promote better politics at the National Council of Churches in Korea. It is one of the four largest church alliances in the country and is known for backing progressive causes.

The NCCK launched the committee in October. On Dec. 3, 2024, Korea briefly revisited martial law after more than 40 years. Suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol now awaits a Constitutional Court decision to either lift his impeachment and return him to office or end his presidency and trigger an early election.

“Had we anticipated such a drastic political move by Yoon when we set up the committee? It sort of crossed our mind, given the circumstances,” Kim told The Korea Herald Tuesday, speaking on what he described as the conservative leader’s unwillingness to engage with the progressive main opposition, prompting a National Assembly deadlock for months.

Today’s political landscape would be much different if readiness to accept or be more open to differences in thinking and action prevailed, Kim said, noting “that virtue is what we need the most.”

The church, Kim noted, could do better in enabling people to embrace differences, starting with respecting the court ruling expected this month on Yoon’s impeachment.

“Whatever the outcome, we have to accept it, because it’s coming from an institution built on our shared agreement,” Kim said, pointing out he will do his part rallying the public to do so.

For Kim, the biggest challenge ahead is dealing with the likes of the Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon -- an ultraconservative populist pastor with a penchant for anticommunism slurs who has been the face of a pro-Yoon rally at Gwanghwamun Square.

The 69-year-old Jun, who labels Yoon’s December martial rule “holy mishap,” stands accused of inciting his followers to storm the Seoul Western District Court on Jan. 18-19, smashing through office equipment in a criminal offense that led to 78 arrests -- the highest number in a single case since 2009.

Jun’s followers were protesting the court’s decision to arrest Yoon for his separate criminal trial. Jun has said the Constitutional Court is not off-limits to his followers exercising “the right to resist,” raising worries over a repeat of violence should the court rule against Yoon.

“We shouldn’t call Jun a pastor because he isn’t one,” Kim said, casting suspicion on the official ordination process Jun claims to have taken.

Kim, who did not present specific evidence to support that claim, has been pushing for the NCCK committee to release statements definitively rebuking Jun — a step yet to be taken by any other elder or major church organization.

A pastor since 1973, Kim opined that conservative megachurch pastors are not as invested as himself in calling out the likes of Jun because it could weaken their own conservative alliance.

“Conservative pastors are united in that they all push back against anything they see as remotely communist. These pastors all feed on anticommunism,” Kim said, explaining such pastors fear alienating their congregations traditionally allergic to being soft on communism.

Pastors should not sit back from malicious campaigns when they clearly spread disinformation and incite violence, even if the effort may take a while to pay off, Kim added.