Yoon Delivers Personal Letter to the Pope via Special Envoy Kang Seung-gyu

Pope Francis Meeting, President Yoon Delivers Personal Letter

Kang Seung-gyu, Senior Secretary for Civil Society, who visited the Vatican as a special envoy of President Yoon Suk-yeol, paid a courtesy call on Pope Francis at the Holy See on the 16th (local time) and delivered a letter from President Yoon.

According to a press release from the Presidential Office, Special Envoy Kang conveyed President Yoon's message to Pope Francis, expressing hope that the friendly and cooperative relationship, built over the 60 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties between Korea and the Holy See, will deepen further.

Kang Seung-gyu, the chief of civil society and special envoy of President Yoon Suk-yeol to the Holy See, officially visited the Vatican on the 16th (local time) to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and the Holy See. He met with Pope Francis and delivered a personal letter from President Yoon.

The letter also included gratitude for the Pope's interest in allowing the statue of Korea's first priest, Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon (1821?1846), to be enshrined in St. Peter's Basilica, the Presidential Office said.

Special Envoy Kang expressed appreciation to the Pope for selecting Seoul as the host city for the 2027 World Youth Day and stated, "Our government, together with local governments, will actively support the successful hosting of the event."

Kang also held a meeting with Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States. He expressed hope that both sides will work together on global issues requiring joint responses from the international community, marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

He added that Korea will cooperate more closely with the Holy See to rise as a global pivotal state. Kang said, "We are grateful that the Holy See dispatched a diplomatic envoy for the first time since liberation and greatly contributed to the Republic of Korea being recognized as a legitimate government at the 1948 United Nations General Assembly," and added, "We have not forgotten the support provided for post-war recovery during and after the Korean War."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.