Cardinal Kim to be honored with German award

Stephen Cardinal Kim Sou-Hwan will receive Germany¡¯s highest civilian order of merit for his contribution to the promotion of friendly ties between Korea and Germany.

The "Grosses Verdienstkreuz mit Stern¡¯¡¯ will be awarded to Kim by German Ambassador to Korea Hubertus von Morr on behalf of German President Johannes Rau at the German Embassy in Songbuk-dong at noon, Monday.

A German Embassy spokesman said Saturday, "The government of the Republic of Germany decided to honor Stephen Cardinal Kim Sou-Hwan with the medal in recognition of the fact that he devoted himself to democratization and human rights by protecting German Catholic priests who were engaged in the human rights movement in Korea under the past military governments.¡¯¡¯

Song Pyoung-In pisong@donga.com