Cho had been hospitalized since a collapse in June 2020 and died in Seoul after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 85 years old.
Cho founded Yoido Full Gospel Church in 1958, which became one of the largest churches in the world with more than 480,000 attendees a week, according to Leadership Network, an international organization of ecclesiastical leaders.
Yoido has more than 500 church sites throughout South Korea and has sent thousands of missionaries to different countries over the years, according to the church statement. Cho himself has participated in rallies and religious movements in 71 countries, according to the statement.
Born in 1936, Cho lived through the Korean War, during which he acted as an interpreter between his school principal and the U.S. military commander, the church said in his release.
In his second year of high school, he was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis and told he would not live much longer. During this time he turned to Christianity, a decision he would later credit with his “miraculous” recovery, according to the church.
Cho’s recovery prompted him to enroll in the Theological Seminary of the Complete Gospel and he founded the church of Yoido after graduating. The church began when only five members gathered under a tent in Seoul, according to the church’s website.
South Korea has one of the most vibrant Christian cultures in the world, especially Protestant ones, and conversion gained strength in the mid-20th century.
Christian minority sects, as well as megacities, grew in the years following the end of the Korean War – and Yoido became perhaps the best-known representative of Korea, with more than 700,000 members in 1993, according to the press release.
These numbers continued to skyrocket as the church internationalized, expanding to include a giant mountain refuge in South Korea’s Gyeonggi Province and a Cho Christian University founded in California. The church also established an international arm, led by Cho, to connect with pastors and church leaders from 25 other countries, according to its website.
Within South Korea, Cho became a very influential figure; he founded a Christian newspaper, established a humanitarian NGO, and wrote several books, according to the church.
But it was also the subject of controversy and scandal. In 2014, he was found guilty of embezzling $ 14 million in church donations to buy shares owned by his son, four times his market value, according to Reuters.
Cho’s wife died in February this year. The couple leaves behind three children.