In Memoriam: KANG Moon-Kyu

In Memoriam KANG Moon-Kyu

 

KANG
Moon-Kyu


war in den 70er und 80er Jahren an zentraler Stelle mitverantwortlich für das internationale Netzwerk zur Herstellung von Demokratie in Südkorea und zum Schutz der Menschenrechte während der Diktaturen. Er verstarb in Seoul am 18. Dezmber 2013.


Der ÖRK/WCC veröffentlichte folgenden Nachruf
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/news/wcc-expresses-condolences-on-passing-of-dr-kang-moon-kyu

Dr Kang Moon-Kyu
Condolence letter to the widow of Dr Kang Moon-Kyu, an outstanding ecumenical leader and a former president of the World Council of Churches

18 December 2013
A letter of condolences by the WCC general secretary

Dear Prof. Kang Kim Sook Ja,
It is with great sadness that we received the news of the passing away of Dr Kang Moon-Kyu, an outstanding ecumenical leader and a former president of the World Council of Churches (WCC). The WCC joins you all in thanking God for the life and witness of Dr Kang Moon-Kyu and his contribution to church and society.

A lay member of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK), Dr Kang Moon-Kyu was actively involved in the global ecumenical movement during the past five decades. He served the ecumenical movement in various capacities as the Asia Pacific regional secretary of the World Student Christian Federation, general secretary of the Korean YMCA, general committee member and treasurer of the Christian Conference of Asia, and as a member of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) of the World Council of Churches.

As a member of the CCIA he was actively involved in the planning and preparation of the Tozanso process of the Korean unification and the first international ecumenical conference on peace and reunification of the Korean peninsula organized by WCC in 1984. He was also actively involved in the organization of the WCC-sponsored World Convocation on Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation (JPIC) held in Seoul, Korea in 1990.

An ardent advocate of democratization and human rights in Korea, he demonstrated a clear vision on churches’ participation in wider social issues.  He was instrumental in mobilizing humanitarian and development assistance to various Asian countries, especially to North Korea, East Timor, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar. His commitment to justice and peace and inter-Korean reconciliation will long be remembered by churches and ecumenical movement in Asia.

As we mourn his passing away, the WCC recognizes his invaluable contribution to the ecumenical movement and the society at large. On behalf of the WCC, I express our heartfelt condolences. May our Lord console and strengthen you and your family in this difficult time of bereavement.

Blessings and peace.
Yours in His Service,
Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit
WCC general secretary


Pressemitteilung des ÖRK:

WCC expresses condolences on passing of Dr Kang Moon-Kyu

Dr Kang Moon-Kyu at a WCC meeting in 1999.
19 December 2013
The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has expressed heartfelt condolences on the passing away of Dr Kang Moon-Kyu, an ecumenical leader from South Korea and former president of the WCC from Asia, 1998-2006.
Dr Kang passed away Wednesday, 18 December. He was 83.
In a letter to Kang’s wife, Prof. Kang Kim Sook Ja, Tveit expressed appreciation for the contribution Kang made to the global ecumenical movement through his involvement with the WCC, as a lay member of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK) and in several other capacities.
“He served the ecumenical movement in various capacities as the Asia Pacific regional secretary of the World Student Christian Federation, general secretary of the Korean YMCA, general committee member and the treasurer of the Christian Conference of Asia, and a member of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) of the World Council of Churches,” Tveit wrote in his letter.
“As we mourn his passing away, the WCC recognizes his invaluable contribution to the ecumenical movement and the society at large,” Tveit said.