Congratulatory Video Message to the President-elect
"Bring Hope to the Poor and the Struggling"
Cardinal Lazarus Yuhyungshik, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy at the Vatican, congratulated President Lee Jaemyung on his election and urged him to become a president who brings hope to the poor and marginalized. On the 5th, the Democratic Party of Korea announced that Cardinal Yuhyungshik had sent a video message containing these remarks.
In the video, Cardinal Yuhyungshik told President Lee, "You have lived a life full of challenges and hardships," and added, "I congratulate you on overcoming many difficulties and finally becoming the president for all of us."
He continued, "Now, as the public servant for all of us and as our president, I hope you will especially become a leader who can bring hope and courage to those who are poor, struggling, marginalized, and have lost hope."
He also mentioned Leo XIV, who was enthroned as the 267th pope on May 18, saying, "I feel a deep sense of sympathy and the need to stand together with him, as he has suddenly taken on such a difficult mission," and added, "I feel the same way toward President Lee."
Cardinal Yuhyungshik said, "You have come to a truly difficult and lonely position," and assured, "Whenever you feel lonely, challenged, in pain, or distressed, I will be by your side, Mr. President."
He went on to say, "Wisely and courageously, please take each step forward in what you can do. Because these issues have built up over a long time, they cannot be resolved overnight. With patience and wisdom, listen to the voices of the people, but also firmly move forward with what must be done. I believe in you and will stand with you."
Born in 1951 in Nonsan, Chungnam Province, Cardinal Yuhyungshik earned a doctorate in dogmatic theology from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome and was ordained as a priest there. After returning to Korea in 1983, he served as acting pastor of Daeheung-dong Parish in Daejeon, director of Solmoe Retreat House, director of Daejeon Catholic Education Center, and head of the Pastoral Department of the Diocese of Daejeon. He later served as professor and president of Daejeon Catholic University, and in 2003 was consecrated as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Daejeon.
In 2021, he was promoted to archbishop and simultaneously appointed as Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, a major administrative body of the Vatican overseeing the duties and lives of priests and deacons worldwide, as well as matters related to priestly formation in seminaries. In August 2022, he was elevated to the rank of cardinal.
Last month, Cardinal Yuhyungshik participated in the conclave to elect the 267th pope, exercising his voting rights as a Korean cardinal for the first time in about 47 years since October 1978.
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