Some recipients pose for a photo after receiving awards at the 18th Religious Social Welfare Conference held in Seoul on Dec. 27. (Photo: CPBC)
A South Korean inter-religious group has honored five Catholic institutions recognizing their excellence in social work to help the needy in the East Asian country.
They were among 27 religious groups to receive awards at the 18th Religious Social Welfare Conference held in Seoul on Dec.27.
The conference was hosted by the Korean Council of Religious and Social Welfare (KCSW), the Catholic Peace Broadcasting Corporation (CPBC) of Korea reported on Jan. 3.
The awards were to recognize excellent social welfare institutions from Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, and Won Buddhism which form the council.
Myo Jang, chair of the Korean Jogye Order of Buddhism Association and the chief executive officer of its social welfare foundation congratulated the awardees for their hard work and cooperation.
In the coming year, more religious people will join to solve "the problems of difficult neighbors by practicing love, and protecting peace through various exchanges,” Jang said.
The Catholic organizations were represented by its members who received various awards at the event.
Chung Kyung-ae of the Seoul Catholic Social Services received the Minister of Health and Welfare Award.
Ahn Do-Joon of the Seoul Catholic Social Services’ Sinn Mangae Home and Lee Da-hyun of the Seoul Catholic Social Services received the Seoul Mayor's Award.
The President's Award from the council was given to Choi Seung-ah of the Seoul Catholic Social Services and Hwang Jae-kyung of the Suwon Diocesan Social Welfare Center.
In addition, Father Kim Bong-sul, director of Teresa Nursing Home, Jeonju Diocese, and Policy Chairman of Caritas Korea, received the Meritorious Service Award.
Kim had earlier served as the 25th President of the Korean Association of Religious.
The Catholic church in Korea supports millions of people in the country and abroad through various social welfare projects at the regional, diocesan, religious congregation, and organizational levels.
The church runs around 103 Catholic social welfare organizations, has 1,297 affiliated facilities, and more than 20,000 workers nationwide, CPBC reported.
The church provides its social assistance through its multi-faceted support system and takes care of young and old alike through schools, colleges, hospitals, elderly care, migrant advocacy, environmental protection, pro-life advocacy, and more.
South Korea is the fourth largest economy in Asia and is a developed nation. However, official estimates show about 15 percent of about 51.6 million South Koreans live in poverty.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reports that South Korea has the fourth-highest rate of relative poverty among 38 developed countries in the world.
