▲ Kang Seung-kyoo, senior presidential secretary for civil society, speaks to reporters during a briefing at the presidential office in Seoul on July 26, 2023. (Yonhap)

Yoon-Vatican City

Yoon to send special envoy to Vatican City to mark 60th anniv. of diplomatic ties

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol will send a special envoy to Vatican City this week to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and the city-state, his office said Wednesday.

Kang Seung-kyoo, senior presidential secretary for civil society, will visit the Vatican from Thursday to Monday and convey Yoon's gratitude to the country for being the first to send a diplomatic envoy to South Korea following its liberation from Japanese colonial rule, the presidential office said in a press release.

Kang will also thank the Vatican for helping the South Korean government win the U.N. General Assembly's recognition as a legitimate government in 1948, and the affection it showed for South Korea during the erection of a sculpture of Korea's first Catholic priest, St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon (1821-1846), at St. Peter's Basilica.

During his visit, the envoy will meet with Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy of the Holy See, attend a Mass commemorating the sculpture's installment, and deliver South Korea's wishes to further strengthen friendly and cooperative relations with the Vatican, the presidential office said.

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