Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung has retired as the Catholic archbishop of Seoul and apostolic administrator of Pyongyang.

He concluded nine and a half years of service in the leadership position with a mass held at Myeongdong Cathedral in central Seoul on Tuesday.

He said that, in retrospect, he failed to live up to various expectations, but added he will pray for the archdiocese of Seoul to make further contributions in shaping a bright and beautiful society.

Yeom became the 13th archbishop of Seoul, following the late Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk in 2012. Two years later, he became the third Korean cardinal. 

He offered his resignation to Pope Francis in 2018 as he reached the designated retirement age of 75, and it was recently accepted. Filling the post will be Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick.