Honorary Citizen of South Korea
Symbolic honor of South Korea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Honorary citizen (Korean: 명예국민; Hanja: 名譽國民; RR: Myeongye gungmin) is an honor bestowed by South Korea's Minister of Justice on foreigners of exceptional merit. It is a symbolic honor; 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]
List
As of June 2018, four people have been granted honorary citizenship of South Korea.
| # | Name | Nationality | Award date | Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guus Hiddink (born 1946) |
 Netherlands |
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 (born 1934) |
 Austria |
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 (1935–2023) |
Austria |
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 (1928–2018) |
 Ireland |
5 June 2018 | Irish Catholic missionary who settled in Jeju and contributed to agriculture there. Awarded posthumously.[5] |
