KOREA
inside Korea
A Seoul appellate court on Friday dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former priest who claims Catholic authorities wrongfully stripped him of his religious status and pay.
The Seoul High Court ruled that courts could not interfere in church affairs as the Constitution guarantees the freedom of religion and the separation of church and state.
The former priest, only identified by his surname, Kim, initially filed the lawsuit against the Samsungsan Cathedral in 2012 after he lost his priesthood and pay.
Catholic officials suspended Kim after he allegedly embezzled cathedral funds in 2005. They defrocked Kim after he filed civil suits against cathedral authorities in protest.
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