South Korea's Cardinal Lazarus You speculated as possible contender for pope
Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik. - Photo: Courtesy of You
SEOUL: In the coming days, cardinals under the age of 80 will assemble at the Vatican in Rome to elect a new leader of the Catholic Church to follow the late Pope Francis. Some say a South Korean cardinal has a shot, though much slimmer than other contenders.
Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, the former bishop of Daejeon who was appointed the Vatican's prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy in 2021, is one of the 135 cardinals who can vote in the papal election, set to take place between 15 and 20 days after Francis' passing Monday (April 21).
The 74-year-old You, the only Korean with a ballot, has built a reputation as an insider since taking charge at the Vatican office responsible for the world's 400,000 Catholic priests.
You accompanied Francis on his five-day visit to South Korea in August 2014, the first of several visits to Asia, which elevated his standing within the Catholic Church. You also speaks fluent Italian.
That You hails from Asia is seen as a plus. The region is increasingly seen as the future of the Catholic Church, alongside Africa.
The two regions lead the world in the number of priests and are showing sustained growth, compared to declines in Europe and the Americas.
A local group of Catholic bishops reported in 2023 that South Korea had some 6 million Catholics, representing 11.3 per cent of the total population, or the third largest after Protestants at 20 per cent and Buddhists at 16 per cent.
About 50 per cent of the people claimed to be nonreligious.
And that year alone saw some 51,300 new Catholics, a 24 per cent on-year increase.
One Catholic official opined that the Church leadership under Francis, which saw a more diverse array of bishops following the pope's welcoming pastoral approach, could have played a role in the rising number of new Catholics.
The official, speaking anonymously citing protocol, said of You's chances at the papacy, 'The conclave is an open contest and more so this year, which means nothing is really fixed.'
You also shares Francis' long-standing commitment to advancing causes of the marginalised, from time to time speaking out on issues some deem politically sensitive.
On March 21, You made a rare public statement asking the South Korean Constitutional Court for a speedy decision on the removal or reinstatement of then-President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached by parliament for his martial law declaration on Dec 3.
'Out of utmost urgency, I implore the court,' You said. 'There is no reason to prolong making a ruling if we heed our innermost voices of justice and conscience.'
'Pope Francis said there is no neutrality in pain. Likewise, there is no neutrality in justice. Let the Constitution speak for itself,' You added.
The statement was made in response to calls from many in and outside South Korea concerned about the turmoil facing the country, according to You. - The Korea Herald/ANN
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
South Korea's new president Lee Jae-myung vows economic revival, judgment on martial law
SEOUL: South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae-myung began his term on Wednesday, vowing to raise the country from the turmoil of a martial law crisis and revive an economy reeling from slowing growth and the threat of global protectionism. Lee's decisive victory in Tuesday's snap election stands to usher in a sea change in Asia's fourth-largest economy, after backlash against a botched attempt at military rule brought down Yoon Suk Yeol just three years into his troubled presidency. He faces what could be the most daunting set of challenges for a South Korean leader in nearly three decades, ranging from healing a country deeply scarred by the martial law attempt to tackling unpredictable protectionist moves by the US, a major trading partner and a security ally. With 100 per cent of the ballots counted, Lee won 49.42 per cent of the nearly 35 million votes cast while conservative rival Kim Moon-soo took 41.15 per cent in the polls that brought the highest turnout for a presidential election since 1997, according to National Election Commission data. The 61-year-old former human rights lawyer called Tuesday's election "judgment day" against Yoon's martial law and his People Power Party's failure to stop the ill-fated move. "The first mission is to decisively overcome insurrection and to ensure there will never be another military coup with guns and swords turned against the people," Lee said in a victory speech outside parliament. "We can overcome this temporary difficulty with the combined strength of our people, who have great capabilities," he said. Lee was officially confirmed as president by the National Election Commission on Wednesday and immediately assumed the powers of the presidency and commander in chief. An abbreviated inauguration is planned at parliament at 11am (0200 GMT), an Interior Ministry official said. Lee has said he would address urgent economic challenges facing the country on the first day in office with a focus on the cost-of-living concerns affecting middle and low-income families and the struggles of small business owners. He also faces a deadline set by the White House on negotiating import duties that Washington has blamed for a large trade imbalance between the countries. 'DEAL WITH TRUMP' The government under a caretaker acting president had made little progress in trying to assuage crushing tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump's administration that would hit some of the country's major industries, including autos and steel. "President Lee will find himself with little to no time to spare before tackling the most important task of his early presidency: reaching a deal with Trump," the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies said in an analysis. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Lee on his election win and said the countries "share an ironclad commitment to the Alliance grounded in our Mutual Defense Treaty, shared values, and deep economic ties." He also said that the countries were "modernising the Alliance to meet the demands of today's strategic environment and address new economic challenges." The White House said the election of Lee was "free and fair" but the US remained concerned and opposed to Chinese interference and influence in democracies around the world, according to a White House official. Lee has expressed more conciliatory plans for ties with China and North Korea, in particular singling out the importance of China as a major trading partner while indicating reluctance to take a firm stance on security tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Still, Lee has pledged to continue Yoon's engagement with Japan and said the alliance with the US is the backbone of South Korea's global diplomacy. The martial law decree and the six months of ensuing turmoil, which saw three different acting presidents and multiple criminal insurrection trials for Yoon and several top officials, marked a stunning political self-destruction for the former leader and a drag on an economy already slowing growth.
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Millions vote in presidential poll
THE nation's citizens turned out in force to vote in the presidential election, as millions of people sought to restore stability after six months of turmoil triggered by a shock martial law briefly imposed by former leader Yoon Suk-yeol. The new president will face the challenge of rallying a society deeply scarred by the attempt at military rule and an export-heavy economy reeling from unpredictable protectionist moves by the United States, a major trading partner and a security ally. As of 3pm, 30.5 million people, or nearly 69% of the electorate, had voted at 14,295 locations, according to the National Election Commission, with car dealerships, gyms and fields for traditional Korean wrestling known as 'ssireum' turned into polling stations. 'I hope the issues surrounding martial law are addressed more clearly and transparently,' said 40-year-old Seoul resident Kim Yong-hyun. 'There are still many things that don't make sense, and I'd like to see them properly resolved.' Turnout in the snap election was running slightly ahead of the 2022 presidential vote at the same time, with polls set to remain open until 8pm and following early voting when more than a third of the 44.39 million eligible voters cast their ballots. 'Only six golden hours are left to save South Korea which is in crisis due to the greed of the establishment,' liberal frontrunner Lee Jae-myung said as he urged people to vote in a Facebook post. Both Lee and his conservative rival Kim Moon-soo have pledged change for the country, saying a political system and economic model set up during its rise as a budding democracy and industrial power are no longer fit for purpose. People waiting in line to cast their votes. — Reuters/AP Their proposals for investment in innovation and technology often overlap, but Lee advocates more equity and help for mid-to low-income families while Moon-soo has campaigned on giving businesses more freedom from regulations and labour strife. Overshadowing any social policy initiatives, however, is Yoon's botched attempt to impose martial law that has loomed large over the poll. Lee has called the election 'judgment day' against Moon-soo and his People Power Party, accusing them of having condoned the martial law attempt by not fighting harder to thwart it and even trying to save Yoon's presidency. Moon-soo was Yoon's labour minister when the former president declared martial law on Dec 3. The conservative Moon-soo, on the other hand, has branded Lee a 'dictator' and his Democratic Party a 'monster', warning if the former human rights lawyer becomes president, nothing will stop them from working together to amend laws simply because they do not like them. 'I and the People Power Party will do our best to save people's livelihoods and the economy,' Moon-soo said in a Facebook post. The frontrunner Lee and his rival Moon-soo cast their ballots during early voting last week. Yoon and his wife voted at a school near their private residence yesterday, appearing relaxed but ignoring questions as they left the polling station. Regular voters in Seoul urged the next leader to ease discord, restore stability and address urgent challenges from the fallout of the crisis that has touched their families. 'The economy has gotten so much worse since Dec 3, not just for me but I hear that from everybody,' Kim Kwang-ma, 81, said. 'And we as a people have become so polarised... and I wish we could come together so that Korea can develop again.' An elderly woman entering a booth at a polling station. — Reuters/AP Lee is favoured to win, according to polls released a week before the vote, leading Moon-soo by 14 percentage points with 49% public support in a Gallup Korea survey, although Moon-soo had narrowed an even wider gap at the start of the campaign on May 12. Exit polls conducted by three television networks will be released at the close of the polls at 8pm. Ballots will be sorted and counted by machine first, then triple-checked by election officials by hand to verify accuracy. It was not clear when the result would emerge. In 2022, Lee conceded to Yoon at around 3am the day after the vote in the closest presidential race in the country's history, which was decided by a margin of less than one percentage point. The National Election Commission is scheduled to certify the result today and the winner's inauguration is expected within hours. There will be no presidential transition as the office has remained vacant since Yoon was impeached by parliament and then removed by the Constitutional Court on April 4. — Reuters
The Sun
13 hours ago
- The Sun
Lee Jae-myung's rise from poverty to brink of South Korean presidency
SEOUL: Lawsuits, scandals, armed troops and a knife-wielding attacker all failed to deter Lee Jae-myung's ascendancy from sweatshop worker to the cusp of South Korea's presidency. After losing by a razor-thin margin in 2022, the left-leaning Democratic Party candidate is now poised to be elected head of state in a landslide, according to exit polls. Opponents decry Lee, 60, for his populist style. But his rags-to-riches personal story sets him apart from many of South Korea's political elite. After dropping out of school to work at a factory to support his family, he suffered a disabling elbow injury in an industrial accident. He earned a scholarship to study law and passed the bar to become an attorney. Lee has used this origin story to cultivate a loyal support base and frame himself as understanding the struggles of the underprivileged. 'You can worry about people outside shivering in the cold while you sit in your warm living room,' Lee told AFP in a 2022 interview. 'But you can never really understand their pain.' Polls suggest Lee has won more than 50 percent of the vote -- beating conservative challenger Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party in a race triggered by the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk Yeol over his brief declaration of martial law in December. - Live-streaming a crisis - South Korea has experienced a leadership vacuum since lawmakers suspended Yoon for deploying armed troops to parliament in his failed attempt to suspend civilian rule. During the tense minutes following that move, Lee live-streamed his frantic scramble over the perimeter fence as he and other lawmakers rushed to vote down the martial law decree. 'It was a race against time,' he recalled in an interview with AFP. Lee previously served as mayor of Seongnam, south of Seoul, for eight years. In that role, he helped shut down what had been the country's largest dog meat market -- ending a trade that had once involved 80,000 canines a year. He later served as governor of Gyeonggi Province -- the country's most populous region surrounding the capital -- for more than three years. Lee lost his 2022 bid for the presidency to Yoon by one of the smallest margins in South Korean history. In 2024, he was stabbed in the neck by a man posing as a supporter and was airlifted to hospital for emergency surgery. The attacker later confessed that his intention was to kill Lee to prevent him from becoming president. If elected, Lee has vowed, among other things, to boost South Korea's artificial intelligence industry, with the goal of making the country one of the top three global leaders in the field. He has also called for holding those involved in the martial law attempt accountable -- promising to 'bring insurrection elements to justice'. During his early days in politics, Lee drew criticism for his confrontational attacks on political opponents. But Kim Hye-kyung, his wife of 34 years with whom he shares two children, insists Lee speaks with 'deliberation'. 'He's someone who's come up from the margins, from the very bottom,' she said in a 2017 interview. 'Just like how a flea has to jump to be noticed, I hope people can understand and view him in that context.' - Legal troubles - Lee has been dogged by legal troubles of his own, including allegations of corruption tied to a real estate development and violations of election law through the dissemination of false information. He has denied any wrongdoing, insisting the charges are politically motivated. In early May, Seoul's Supreme Court overturned a lower court's acquittal of Lee on election law charges and ordered a retrial. But with the election looming, the Seoul High Court postponed the proceedings until after the June 3 vote. If Lee wins, legal experts say the proceedings would be suspended due to presidential immunity, and would only resume after his single five-year term ends in 2030. Lee's opponents argue the charges are serious enough to disqualify him from running. 'With these kinds of corruption allegations, how can you seek public office?' Kim Moon-soo, his main rival in the election, said during a recent televised debate.
