The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea said on the 22nd that it had elected Bishop Augustine Kim Jong-soo, 70, of the Diocese of Daejeon as its new president during an autumn general assembly held from the 19th to the 21st. The term runs for three years.
Kim studied Korean history at Seoul National University and theology at the Catholic University of Korea, and was ordained a priest in 1989. He served as a professor at Daejeon Catholic University, as head of its catechetical institute and later as its president. He was ordained a bishop in 2009 upon being named auxiliary bishop of the Daejeon diocese, served as apostolic administrator of the diocese from 2021 and was appointed bishop of Daejeon in February 2022. At the bishops' conference, he has chaired the committees on evangelization, liturgy and biblical affairs, led a special committee on sexual violence within the church and served as vice president.
Bishop Chung Shin-chul of the Diocese of Incheon was elected vice president, and Archbishop Simon Ok Hyun-jin of the Archdiocese of Gwangju was named secretary.