SEOUL, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- South Korea's first Roman Catholic cardinal, Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, has died at age 86, hospital officials said Monday.
Kim died Monday at Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital in Seoul, Yonhap, the South Korean news agency, reported.
The prelate was widely respected as a spiritual leader, even among non-Catholics, and was noted for his championing of the poor. He had been suffering from pneumonia and complications for several months and had been hospitalized since last July, falling into brief comas several times, the news agency said.
"Our loss of Cardinal Kim, who more than fulfilled his role as the country's elder every time the country faced a difficulty through its industrialization and democratization, means a great loss for the nation," South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was quoted as saying by his spokesman.
Kim was made a cardinal in 1969 by Pope Paul VI at the age of 46. At the time he was the youngest cardinal. He was also the archbishop of Seoul, a position from which he retired in 1998, Yonhap said.
