Pastor Son Hyun-bo, head pastor of Segero Presbyterian Church in South Korea, said in a video released Friday on the church’s YouTube channel that he met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C.
A source from Segero Presbyterian Church said Son visited the White House with his family, met with President Trump and also stopped by the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships during the visit.
The church did not disclose details about what Son and President Trump discussed during their meeting on July 7.
Pastor Son, who also leads the Protestant group “Save Korea,” has been a prominent figure in rallies opposing the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Son was indicted last year on charges of illegal election campaigning during the presidential election and was sentenced earlier this year to six months in prison, suspended for one year.
Prosecutors accused Son of engaging in illegal election campaigning during both South Korea’s presidential election and the Busan superintendent of education re-election. The allegations included making remarks during church services supporting then-presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo and opposing Lee Jae-myung (now president), as well as recording and posting online an interview with a conservative candidate ahead of the Busan education superintendent election.
The prosecution has drawn criticism from religious freedom advocates, who argue that imprisoning a pastor over political remarks made in a church setting raises serious concerns about freedom of speech and religion.
The pastor has maintained contact with U.S. government officials in recent months, raising concerns about rapidly deteriorating religious freedom and human rights conditions in South Korea, including the Religious Corporation Dissolution Act and the Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Act.
Son met with Michael Needham, a senior advisor at the U.S. Department of State, in February, followed by a June meeting with several U.S. officials who traveled to Segero Presbyterian Church in Busan.
They included Riley Barnes, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL); Julie Turner, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of DRL; and Belcis Romero, Liaison Officer of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
