Honorary Citizen of South Korea

Honorary citizen (Hangul: 명예국민; Hanja: 名譽國民; RR: Myeongye gungmin) is an honour bestowed by South Korea's Minister of Justice on foreigners of exceptional merit. It is a symbolic honour; the recipient does not take the Oath of Citizenship and thus does not receive any rights, privileges, or duties typically held by a citizen of South Korea.

It is not to be confused with special naturalisation (특별귀화; 特別歸化; teukbyeol gwihwa) under Article 7 of the Nationality Act, under which the recipient actually becomes a citizen of South Korea. Such special naturalisation has for example has been granted by the Minister of Justice to Martine Prost for her contribution on returning les manuscrits coréens from France.[1]

The regulations governing grants of honorary citizenship are found in Article 22 of the Nationality Administrative Processing Directions. Paragraph 1 provides the criteria: foreigners may be granted honorary citizenship if they have received an order, decoration, or medal from the South Korean government; in recognition of contributions in the fields of security, society, economy, or the arts; or for other contribution at a level similar to the two previously mentioned. Paragraph 3 provides that an honorary citizen of South Korea can enjoy special immigration privileges under ordinances from the Minister of Justice.[2]

As of June 2018, four people have been granted honorary citizenship of South Korea.

# Name Image Award date Information
1 Guus Hiddink 2 July 2002 South Korea national football team head coach who first led the team to a semi-final of the FIFA World Cup.[3]
2 Marianne Stöger 8 June 2016 Austrian nun who worked as a nurse at the leper colony on Sorokdo, South Jeolla Province from 1962 to 2005.[4]
3 Margaritha Pissarek 8 June 2016 Austrian nun who worked as a nurse at the leper colony on Sorokdo, South Jeolla Province from 1966 to 2005.[4]
4 Patrick James McGlinchey 5 June 2018 Irish Catholic missionary who settled in Jeju and contributed to agriculture there. Awarded posthumously.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 양병훈 [Yang Byeong-hun] (November 20, 2015). "특별귀화 허가 받은 마르틴 프로스트 전 파리7대학 한국학과장" [Martine Prost, who was granted permission for special naturalisation, becomes chair of Paris 7 University's department of Korean studies]. Korea Economic Daily. Archived from the original on 2015-11-20. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  2. ↑ 국적업무처리지침 [Nationality Administrative Processing Directions]. 법무부예규 제1131호 [Ministry of Justice Rule No. 1131]. Ministry of Government Legislation. 2016-10-31. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  3. ↑ Salmon, Andrew (May 2, 2012). "(35) Hiddink: hero from Holland and Korea's football magician". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  4. 1 2 Kim, Rahn (2016-06-08). "Austrian nuns become honorary Korean citizens for helping lepers". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
  5. ↑ 이민영 [Lee Min-yeong] (2018-06-06). "'돼지 신부' 맥그린치 신부에 명예국민증 헌정" ['Boar Father' McGlinchey awarded honorary citizenship]. Seoul Shinmun. Retrieved 2018-06-11.


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