Honorary Citizen of South Korea

Honorary citizen (Korean: 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 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. 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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