SPOTLIGHT 26/03/17 Seoul WYD organizers launch lawmakers’ support committee

[성기화 요셉]

The lawmakers will support preparations through cooperation covering 13 standing committees

Bishop Paul Kyung-sang Lee (seventh left) poses for a photograph with the lawmakers after the inauguration of the National Assembly Support Committee for WYD 2027 on March 17. (Photo supplied)

By UCA News Reporter

Published: March 17, 2026 11:00 AM GMT

Updated: March 17, 2026 11:40 AM GMT

Organizers of the 2027 Seoul World Youth Day (WYD) have inaugurated a new committee by appointing 57 South Korean Catholic lawmakers who will support the international event, which Pope Leo XIV is slated to attend.

In a press statement, the WYD Local Organizing Committee (LOC) said it held an inauguration and briefing session for the National Assembly Support Committee for WYD on March 17.

The event held at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building in Yeouido formally established “a parliamentary framework to support preparations for the international event,” the committee said.

In his opening remarks, Bishop Paul Kyung-sang Lee, general coordinator of the WYD Seoul 2027, said it will be the first World Youth Day “to be held in a non-Christian country and in a divided nation.”

“As such, it carries profound significance, offering a powerful witness to peace on the Korean Peninsula and to the common good of the human family,” Lee emphasized.

The bipartisan commitment of the lawmakers and the national assembly will make the event “more meaningful and luminous,” the prelate added.

Pope Leo XIV is also slated to attend WYD in Seoul from Aug. 3-8, 2027. The event is slated to start on July 29.

The attendees of the inaugural event included lawmakers Cho Jung-sik and Rep. Na Kyung-won, co-chairs of the committee, Han Jeoung-ae, executive chair, and Choi Hyung-doo, president of the Catholic Members’ Association of the National Assembly.

Letters of appointment were presented to the committee leadership and principal members during the ceremony.

The committee will support preparations for WYD Seoul 2027 through cooperation covering 13 standing committees of the National Assembly.

Father Joseph Young-je Lee, head of planning for the WYD, held a briefing session that included a presentation by Seoul 2027 LOC. He outlined the event’s overall vision and key areas requiring cooperation from the government and the National Assembly.

Among the lawmakers who addressed the gathering, Cho said the National Assembly would serve as a “bridge for cooperation among the government, local authorities, and educational institutions,” while describing WYD as both a national and global event.

Lawmaker Na said the National Assembly would also “work to support the event through institutional measures, including visa and immigration arrangements.”

The WYD would offer young people an opportunity to “build solidarity across borders and religions,” Lawmaker Han said while pledging “active parliamentary support to help ensure a successful and exemplary international gathering.”

Pope John Paul II introduced WYD in 1985, with an aim to bring young people together to deepen their faith, experience the universality of the Church, and foster peace and understanding.

The triennial global event features prayer, pilgrimage, sharing, music, and dance.

BishopLee pointed out that youth from around 170 countries are expected to visit South Korea, with more than 1 million participants anticipated for the final events.