염수정 廉洙政
Former Archbishop of Seoul and Korea's third cardinal; baptismal name Andrew
| Life | 1943 |
| Era | 현대 |
| Clan | 파주 염씨 |
Life & career
Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung (廉洙政, born 1943) is a Catholic priest of the Paju Yeom clan with the baptismal name Andrew. He was born on 5 December 1943 in Mijang-ri, Samjuk-myeon, Anseong County, Gyeonggi (now Anseong). He was ordained a priest on 8 December 1970 by Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, was named auxiliary bishop of Seoul (titular bishop of Tiburca) on 1 December 2001 and was consecrated by Archbishop Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk on 25 January 2002.
On 10 May 2012, after Cardinal Cheong's resignation, he was appointed the 13th archbishop of Seoul and promoted to archbishop the same day, also serving as apostolic administrator of Pyongyang. On 22 February 2014 Pope Francis created him cardinal, making him Korea's third cardinal after Kim Sou-hwan and Cheong Jin-suk. In August 2014 he hosted the Pope's visit to Korea as archbishop of Seoul.
Wikipedia notes that assessments of his statements were divided. In 2013 he gave a homily criticizing priests' political involvement and later that year one stressing social action, which some saw as a shift; after the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster he spoke in remembrance of the victims and on social ills, but a remark in August that year drew controversy. He stepped down as archbishop on 8 December 2021, succeeded by Archbishop Peter Soon-taick Chung (some sources give 30 November 2021). This entry covers public duties only and does not discuss private life.
Wikipedia gives his seat as Paju and Namuwiki lists him under the Gukpa-gong branch. The 'su' (洙) in his name matches the 20th-generation generation-name character of the Paju Yeom clan.
Career Summary
Ordained priest 1970, auxiliary bishop 2001, archbishop of Seoul 2012, cardinal 2014 and retired 2021. As a living person, please check the archdiocese's official announcements for details.