On March 19, Pope Francis appointed Father Simon Kim Jong-Gang as the new bishop of the Diocese of Cheongju, South Korea, reports Fides news agency.
He is currently the Administrative Director of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Korea (CBCK).
The bishop-elect succeeds Bishop Gabriel Chang Bong-hun, who has already reached the mandatory age of retirement (75) as per the church’s canon law. Bong-hun was a bishop for 22 years.
Msgr. Jong-Gang was born on January 2, 1965, in the Diocese of Cheongju. He attended the Major Seminary of Daegu and obtained a Licentiate in Philosophy and Theology at the Catholic University in 1996.
In 2005, he obtained a Licentiate in Church History from the Gregorian University of Rome. He was ordained a priest on June 28, 1996.
The 58-year old priest was parish vicar of Sachcondong (1996-1997) and Sajik-1-dong (1997-1999); Administrative Delegate and parish priest of Haksan (1999-2001).
He was the vice-rector of the Pontifical College of Saint Paul in Rome (2005-2010); director of the Youth Ministry of the Diocese of Cheongju (2010-2013); parish priest of Ghyemyong (2013-2015); Professor at the Catholic University of Daejeon, South Korea (2015-2020).
Since 2020, he has been Administrative Director of the Korean Bishops' Conference.
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