Conservative Korean presbyterian churches, comprising the absolute majority of the Korean Church, have always claimed to be heirs of the Reformed tradition. Such words as «Reformed», «Calvinistic», and «Orthodox» are the most popular terms for the names of their denominations. Nevertheless, for the last several decades they have failed to reflect the Reformed social ethics in both theory and practice. This study examines the historical position of Reformed social ethics and compares it with that of the Korean presbyterian churches. It also seeks reasons for the serious gap that has existed between them.