Pope Leo appoints Fr. Matteo Kwang-Hee Choi new auxiliary bishop of Seoul archdiocese

Fr. Matteo Kwang-Hee Choi (Archdiocese of Seoul)

Pope Leo XIV appointed Fr. Matteo Kwang Hee Choi as the new auxiliary bishop of the Seoul archdiocese on Tuesday at noon, according to the Archdiocese of Seoul.

The appointment comes about a year and a half after Fr. Paul Kyung Sang Lee was named the auxiliary bishop of Seoul by Pope Francis in February 2024, marking another addition to the Archdiocese's episcopal leadership.

Born in 1977 in Seoul, Choi graduated from the School of Theology at the Catholic University of Korea in June 2004 and was ordained as a priest in July of the same year. In 2012, he earned a master's degree in biblical theology from Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Upon return to Korea, he served from 2013 to 2020 as the pastoral director for the Catholic Youth Bible Group.

In 2021, he served as the deputy director of the St. Enber Center. He began serving as the director of the Cultural and Public Relations Office and secretary of the Public Relations Committee in 2023, overseeing organizational and administrative tasks related to the Seoul Archdiocese's public relations efforts. Since September 2024, he has also been serving as the spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Seoul.