Ex-university chief receives German order

Kim Yoon-soo

The German government conferred on Kim Yoon-soo, former president of Chonnam National University (CNU), an Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit, Thursday, for his contribution to enhancing Korea-Germany ties through scholarly research.

Kim, who studied in Germany for some time, supported the research of German literature during his time at CNU, and helped fund the establishment of a German culture center in Gwangju, which opened last month.

Kim earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agriculture at CNU, and his doctorate from the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna. He served as president of CNU from 2008 to 2012.

The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, which was created by the country’s first president, Theodor Heuss, in 1951, is the only German federal decoration. It has been awarded to over 200,000 Germans and foreigners.