Lee Young-hoon, senior pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church, was awarded a Moran Medal, the second-highest Order of Civil Merit, by the government for his contributions to addressing demographic issues facing Korean society, such as low birthrates and an aging population, the church said Thursday.
At the ceremony held on the occasion of the 13th Population Day, the Ministry of Health and Welfare presented awards to individuals who actively contributed to solving societal issues.
The welfare ministry said the senior pastor “received the Moran Medal in recognition of his active promotion of an interreligious campaign to restore and spread family values, as well as his dedication to local communities.”
Lee, as the senior pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church, foresaw 12 years ago that Korea’s low birthrate problem would lead to a national crisis and began to prepare countermeasures.
A prime example is the childbirth encouragement fund as the church became the country’s first church to start providing incentives to members who had children, distributing a total of 5.4 billion won ($3.9 million) up to last year.
In response, he emphasized that while he considers it a great honor, this is not an issue that should be tackled alone but one that society should address collectively.
“I consider this a great honor. Since 2012, Yoido Full Gospel Church has been conducting a childbirth encouragement movement, encouraging and supporting young families and each generation to have children. However, it’s regrettable 커뮤니티 that even after 12 years, the birthrate is still falling and sinking into darkness. This is not an issue that should be addressed by a single church, but one that our society should collectively tackle,” he said during the award ceremony.
“I believe that when we all work together with one heart to solve the low birthrate problem by actively supporting and cooperating with the policies established by the government, the country will be able to address this problem and bring about a healthy and bright future.”
Yoido Full Gospel Church has strengthened its support for low birthrate issues starting this year. The church provides 2 million won for the first child born to its members, 3 million won for the second child, 5 million won for the third and 10 million won for the fourth and subsequent children.
In addition, the church has invested more than 78 billion won in various projects related to overcoming low birthrates. The church has created a marriage preparatory school to instill positive attitudes toward marriage, provided marriage incentives to members who have married and started a family, in addition to establishing a child care center and facilities for single mothers.
