South Korean Pastor Son Hyun-bo Meets Trump at White House During Monthlong US Church Tour

Pastor Son Hyun-bo of Segyero Church in Busan, South Korea, met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Aug. 7, according to the Christian Daily Korea, a stop that came roughly a month into an extended tour of American churches and marks the pastor's latest high-profile engagement with senior U.S. officials following a legal battle in South Korea that drew significant international attention over the past year.

Son traveled to the White House with his wife, Lee Young-rye, and their two sons, Son Young-gwang and Son Chan-song, according to the report. Pastor Rob McCoy joined the family for the meeting with Trump, and the group also visited the White House Faith Office, led by senior adviser Paula White-Cain.

Part of a Broader US Speaking Tour

The White House meeting capped off what has been an extensive tour of American churches for Son, who was invited by U.S. religious leaders to visit the country from July 13 through Aug. 14, a roughly monthlong trip spanning church visits and meetings with American government officials and lawmakers. During the tour, Son visited churches across California, Texas, Tennessee, Maryland, Delaware and Georgia, including stops at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in California, led by pastor Jack Hibbs; Immanuel Baptist Church, formerly known as World Outreach Church, in Tennessee, led by pastor Allen Jackson; Free Chapel in Georgia, led by pastor Jentezen Franklin; and Vintage Church in Texas, led by pastor Stephen Martin.

According to the Christian Daily Korea, Son also appeared on more than six podcasts during the tour, including Christian radio programs in the United States, and held meetings with several U.S. Senate offices and other government officials while in Washington, D.C. Friday's White House meeting served as the final stop of his Washington itinerary before the family departs to return to South Korea on Aug. 14.

A Pastor Whose Case Drew International Attention

Son's visibility on the American religious and political circuit traces back to a legal case in South Korea that made him a prominent figure in broader debates over religious freedom under the country's current government. He was arrested in September 2025 on charges of violating South Korea's public election laws, with prosecutors alleging he interviewed a political candidate during a church service and later held what was described as a "prayer service for victory" at the candidate's campaign office. His arrest was notable for being described by supporters as the first time in 78 years that South Korea had detained a pastor over remarks critical of the government, and he spent nearly five months in custody before his release on probation.

The case drew significant attention from conservative political and religious figures in the United States. Son's son, Chance Son, appeared on the American radio program "Washington Watch" during his father's imprisonment to advocate for his release, describing Segyero Church as one of Korea's most influential evangelical congregations, with attendance reaching up to 10,000 people on Sundays. Following his release earlier this year, Son said his family had already been invited to the White House twice to discuss his case, and he expressed gratitude to a number of senior American officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Sen. Marco Rubio, along with more than 10,000 American pastors who had signed a petition calling for his release.

Continued Political Activity in South Korea

Since his release, Son has remained an active and outspoken figure in South Korean religious and political circles. He has been described as a hard-line supporter of impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol, and led a protest outside South Korea's National Assembly in April against a proposed bill that would allow the government to revoke permits and seize assets from religious organizations found to have interfered improperly in politics. Speaking at a related seminar at the time, Son argued that his original conviction stemmed from what he characterized as the government's misunderstanding of the constitutional separation of religion and state, a position that drew both support from conservative Protestant leaders and criticism from mainstream Protestant umbrella organizations in South Korea concerned about the broader implications of religious groups engaging directly in partisan politics.

A Pattern of White House Engagement With Persecuted Christian Leaders

Friday's meeting fits within a broader pattern established by the Trump administration's White House Faith Office, which has periodically hosted religious leaders from around the world who describe facing persecution in their home countries. Earlier this year, the office welcomed a separate group of Christians who said they had faced persecution in countries including China, Nigeria, Cuba and Turkey, an event that occurred around the National Prayer Breakfast in February. That broader engagement reflects the Faith Office's stated mission, established through executive order in February 2025, of leading White House outreach to faith-based groups and houses of worship both domestically and internationally.

With his U.S. tour set to conclude in the coming days, Son and his family are scheduled to return to South Korea on Aug. 14, following what has amounted to a month of high-profile engagement with American evangelical congregations, media outlets and now, for the latest time, senior U.S. government officials at the White House. Given the continued political and legal sensitivity surrounding his case in South Korea, including the ongoing debate over the proposed legislation targeting religious organizations' political activity, Son's American tour and its culminating White House visit are likely to continue drawing attention from both South Korean religious communities and American conservative political and faith circles that have closely followed his case over the past year.