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His Eminence Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk
Cardinal, Archbishop of Seoul
The cardinal in 2014.
Native name	정진석
Archdiocese	Seoul
See	Seoul
Appointed	3 April 1998
Installed	29 June 1998
Term ended	10 May 2012
Predecessor	Stephen Kim Sou-hwan
Successor	Andrew Yeom Soo-jung
Other post(s)	Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Immacolata di Lourdes a Boccea
Previous post(s)	Roman Catholic Bishop of Cheongju (1970–1998) Apostolic Administrator of P’yŏng-yang (1998-2012)
Orders
Ordination	18 March 1961 by Paul Roh Ki-nam
Consecration	3 October 1970 by Paul Roh Ki-nam
Created cardinal	24 March 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born	(1931-12-07)7 December 1931 Seoul, Korea
Died	27 April 2021(2021-04-27) (aged 89) Seoul, South Korea
Nationality	Korean
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Alma mater	Pontifical Urban University
Motto	Omnibus omnia
Coat of arms

Styles of Nicholas Cheong Jin-Suk
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal
See	Seoul

Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk (Korean: 정진석; Hanja: 鄭鎭奭; 7 December 1931 – 27 April 2021) was a South Korean Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Seoul from 1998 until he retired in 2012. He was previously Bishop of Cheongju from 1970 to 1998. He was made a cardinal in 2006.

Biography

Cheong Jin-suk briefly studied chemical engineering at the Seoul National University before entering the seminary in Seoul, from where he later obtained his bachelor's degree in theology, in 1954. After studying sociology in Hong Kong, he was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Paul Roh Ki-nam on 18 March 1961 at the Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul.

Cheong then did pastoral work in Seoul until becoming a professor at its minor seminary and notary of its archdiocesan curia in 1962. He was chancellor of the curia and undersecretary of the Catholic Conference from 1964 to 1965, and episcopal chancellor and vice-rector of the Minor Seminary from 1966 to 1967. He then earned a degree in canon law, studying at the Pontifical Urban University, from October 1968 to 1970.

On 25 June 1970, Cheong was appointed the second Bishop of Cheongju by Pope Paul VI. He was the youngest bishop in Korea at the time. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 3 October from Archbishop Kinam Ro, with Bishops James Pardy, MM, and Peter Han Kong-ryel serving as co-consecrators, in the Church of the Holy Family in Cheongju. He was elected to a three-year term as president of the Korean Episcopal Conference in 1996.

Cheong was appointed the third Archbishop of Seoul on 3 April 1998. In addition to his duties in Seoul, he was made Apostolic Administrator of P'yong-yang on 6 June of that same year.

Pope Benedict XVI created him Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Immacolata di Lourdes a Boccea in the consistory of 24 March 2006. Cheong was appointed to the executive committee of the Pontifical Council for the Family on the following 6 May, and to the Council of Cardinals for the Study of the Organizational and Economic Problems of the Holy See on 3 February 2007. He was later appointed a member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

On his 80th birthday, 7 December 2011, Cheong lost his curial memberships. His resignation as archbishop was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI on 10 May 2012 and he was succeeded by Andrew Yeom Soo-jung.

Cheong died at Saint Mary's Hospital in Seoul at the age of 89 on 27 April 2021. He had celebrated sixty years of his priesthood the previous month. He had been admitted to hospital on 21 February with critical health issues such as breathing difficulties and a slight fever and his successor Cardinal Yeom Soo-jung administered the Anointing of the Sick on 22 February. By the first week of March, Cheong's condition seemed to improve upon the removal of life-sustaining equipment, barring the intravenous, with reports that his blood pressure and oxygen levels were gradually returning to normal. He was adamant that he would not have any surgery, nor would he remain connected to any equipment that would prolong his life. He also signed up for organ donation in the event of his death.

References

1. "Life of Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk". The Korea Herald. 28 April 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
2. ^ "Former Catholic prelate of Seoul, Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, dies at 89". Licas News. 28 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
3. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXII. 1970. p. 645. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
4. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. XC. 1998. p. 820. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
5. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. XC. 1998. p. 822. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
6. "Assegnazione dei Titoli e delle Diaconie ai nuovi Cardinali" [Assignment of Titles and Deaconries to the new Cardinals]. The Holy See (in Italian). Ufficio delle Celebrazioni Liturgiche del Sommo Pontefice. 24 March 2006. Archived from the original on 28 July 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
7. "Rinunce e Nomine, 06.05.2006" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 6 April 2006. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
8. "Rinunce e Nomine, 10.05.2012" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
9. "Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk dies". Yonhap News Agency. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
10. "Cardinal Cheong Jin-suk recovers at hospital". The Dong-a Ilbo. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
11. "Cardinal Cheong pledges organ donation, no life support treatment". The Korea Times. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

External links

• "Cheong Jinsuk Card. Nicholas". Holy See Press Office. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
• Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

• 1931 births
• 2021 deaths
• Pontifical Urban University alumni
• 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in South Korea
• 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in South Korea
• Roman Catholic archbishops of Seoul
• Clergy from Seoul
• South Korean cardinals
• South Korean Roman Catholic archbishops
• Pontifical Council for the Family
• Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI
• Roman Catholic bishops of Pyongyang
• Roman Catholic bishops of Cheongju