President Park Geun-hye met Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung and other Roman Catholic leaders on March 14. During the luncheon, President Park congratulated Cardinal Yeom on his ordination and discussed preparations for Pope Francis’s trip to Korea scheduled for this August.


The meeting was held upon the request of the committee tasked with preparing for Pope Francis’s visit, to express gratitude for Korea’s invitation and for the government-wide support it is receiving.

President Park expressed her gratitude for the prayers and loving care that Pope Francis showed for peace on the Korean Peninsula. Park also hoped that the upcoming papal visit would bring sustainable peace to the peninsula and be an opportunity to lay the foundation for unification of the country.

The luncheon was attended by Cardinal Yeom, Archbishop Osvaldo Padilla, Bishops Kang woo-il and Cho Gyu-man, as well as, from Cheong Wa Dae, the Chief Presidential Secretary Kim Ki-chun, Ju Chul-ki, senior secretary for foreign and security affairs, Yoon Chang-beon, chief advisor of future strategy, and Mo Chul-min, senior secretary for education and cultural affairs.

Wi Tack-whan, Lee Seung-ah
Korea.net Staff Writers
whan23@korea.kr