South Korean government passes laws ahead of World Youth Day. A television broadcast agreement is also signed

(ZENIT News / Seoul, 07.01.2026).- With just over a year remaining before millions of young Catholics are expected to converge on South Korea, preparations for World Youth Day (WYD) Seoul 2027 have entered a decisive new phase. Civil authorities, educational institutions and the country’s public broadcaster are now formally joining the Catholic Church in what promises to be one of the largest international gatherings ever hosted by the nation.

The Seoul Metropolitan Council has approved two key ordinances providing official institutional support for the 41st World Youth Day, scheduled for August 3–8, 2027. The measures establish the legal and administrative framework necessary for cooperation between the Archdiocese of Seoul, local government and public agencies responsible for welcoming an event expected to attract as many as two million pilgrims from around 190 countries.

The ordinance concerning the Seoul Metropolitan Government passed with 47 votes in favor, four against and eight abstentions among the 59 council members present. A companion measure concerning the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education received 48 votes in favor, six against and seven abstentions from the 61 members attending the session.

Their approval follows the adoption earlier this year by South Korea’s National Assembly of the International Cultural Events Support Act, legislation designed to facilitate the organization of the global Catholic gathering. Together, these measures provide the legal foundation needed for the extensive coordination required by an event of this scale.

Hosting World Youth Day involves far more than preparing venues for papal celebrations. The new ordinances establish mechanisms for cooperation in transportation, accommodation, food services, security, emergency medical care, sanitation, volunteer management, tourism and cultural programming. They also require Seoul’s mayor to develop and implement a comprehensive support plan covering every stage of the event, including the future use of facilities constructed or adapted for the occasion.

Particular attention has been given to the role of schools. Under the ordinance approved by the Metropolitan Office of Education, gymnasiums and other educational facilities may be used to accommodate the enormous number of international pilgrims expected to arrive in the Korean capital. Church and government officials are now expected to finalize detailed operational plans covering housing, traffic management, crowd control, emergency healthcare, volunteer coordination and contingency measures for summer heatwaves and heavy rainfall.

The legislation also establishes new structures for cooperation among the central government, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Office of Education, local district administrations and the WYD Organizing Committee. An advisory body and an integrated support team will coordinate efforts across multiple sectors to ensure that logistical, safety and administrative responsibilities are shared efficiently.

Father Joseph Lee Young-je, planning director of the local organizing committee, described the newly approved ordinances as indispensable to the success of the event. In his view, together with the national legislation approved in March, they create the legal and administrative framework necessary to encourage active collaboration between national and local authorities.

Preparations have also advanced on another crucial front: global communications.

The Seoul 2027 World Youth Day Foundation has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), appointing South Korea’s public broadcaster as the official host broadcaster for the international event.

Under the agreement, signed on June 29 by Foundation President Bishop Paul Kyung-sang Lee and KBS President Park Jang-beom, the broadcaster will produce and distribute the international television signal for the principal liturgical celebrations and public events. KBS will also establish and operate the International Broadcasting Center while coordinating television coverage, news production and worldwide signal distribution.

The partnership seeks not only to televise the celebrations but also to communicate the spiritual and cultural significance of World Youth Day to audiences across the globe. Joint promotional initiatives and original productions will target both domestic and international viewers, allowing millions unable to travel to Seoul to participate remotely in the major events.

Bishop Lee expressed confidence that the collaboration would help present World Youth Day as a unique encounter where young people from every continent gather to share both faith and culture. Combining KBS’s broadcasting expertise with the universal message of the gathering, he said, would allow its themes of hope, peace and communion to reach audiences well beyond those physically present in South Korea.

For his part, Park described KBS’s appointment as both an honor and a major responsibility. Recalling the broadcaster’s role during Pope Francis’ apostolic journey to South Korea in 2014, he pledged to build upon that experience to ensure that Seoul 2027 becomes one of the most memorable editions in the history of World Youth Day.

Established by St. John Paul II in the 1980s, World Youth Day has grown into the Catholic Church’s largest international youth gathering, combining pilgrimage, catechesis, cultural exchange and major liturgical celebrations. Beyond its religious dimension, each edition also becomes a significant cultural and logistical undertaking for the host nation.

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