Kang Soon Gi, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Northern Asia-Pacific Division, has tendered his resignation amid financial losses linked to investments made by the church’s Korean Union Conference. The resignation was received by General Conference President Erton Köhler on September 28, 2026, and will now be presented to the General Conference Executive Committee for consideration. Kang was elected president of the Northern Asia-Pacific Division at the church’s 2025 General Conference Session.
Before taking the regional position, Kang served as president of the Korean Union Conference from 2020 to 2025. As president of the Northern Asia-Pacific Division, Kang also serves as a vice president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s General Conference. In his resignation letter, Kang stated that his decision was made with the interests of the church in mind, citing the importance of leadership responsibility and humility.
The General Conference linked Kang’s resignation to losses from the Korean Union Conference’s investment portfolio, which have significantly affected the retirement fund for Korean church employees. The church said the Korean Union had made investments since at least 2012 in areas including private equity, venture capital, project financing, and other special investment securities. Recent changes in the real estate investment market contributed to volatile conditions affecting the portfolio.
An auditing service assessed the valuation of the Korean Union’s retirement-fund investments and provided a preliminary report to the union’s executive committee in August 2026. The audit covering 2025 remains ongoing and will be released according to church policy. The resignation follows a September 24 report by SPECTRUM Magazine that the Korean Union Conference was facing approximately ₩86.56 billion, or about $63 million, in potential investment losses.
The figure represented roughly 46 percent of the union’s ₩188.5 billion investment portfolio, although SPECTRUM noted that not all of the amount had necessarily been permanently lost because some assets remained under assessment. SPECTRUM also reported that the investments under review were made over several years and that some of the practices predated the current Korean Union administration.
The Korean Union Conference is part of the Northern Asia-Pacific Division and covers the Korean Peninsula, including the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, with five conferences, the North Korean Mission, and Jeju Region under its administration. For now, Kang’s resignation remains subject to consideration by the General Conference Executive Committee.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church has not announced the outcome of that process or who would succeed him as president of the Northern Asia-Pacific Division. Kang’s resignation and the related financial losses highlight the challenges faced by the church in managing its investments and ensuring the financial stability of its organizations.
Key points
- Kang Soon Gi resigned as president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Northern Asia-Pacific Division amid financial losses linked to investments made by the church’s Korean Union Conference.
- The losses, estimated at approximately ₩86.56 billion, or about $63 million, have significantly affected the retirement fund for Korean church employees.
- Kang’s resignation was received by General Conference President Erton Köhler on September 28, 2026, and will now be presented to the General Conference Executive Committee for consideration.
