Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk may resign as archbishop of Seoul by the end of the year, a local news report said Friday.

The Vatican is looking to accept Cheong’s resignation before the end of the year, or at least by early next year, the report said citing an unnamed high-ranking official of the Korean Catholic Church.

Cheong, who was appointed as the archbishop of Seoul in 1998, tendered his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI back in 2006 ― the year he turned 75. Every Catholic bishop, upon reaching the age of 75, is required to submit their resignation to the Vatican.

His resignation was not accepted by the Pope at the time, which is not unusual, according to the Embassy of Vatican in Korea.

“It is ultimately the Pope’s decision,” said one of the Embassy officials. “Some resignations are accepted with immediate effect if they involve health problems. And many get rejected. Former Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan’s resignation was rejected as well, when he submitted it at the age of 75.”

Even if the Pope finally does accept Cardinal Cheong’s resignation as Seoul archbishop, Cheong will still keep the status of Cardinal title which is a life-long title.

He will, however, lose his right to elect the Pope when he turns 80 in December. The right of cardinals who elect the pope is limited to those who haven’t reached the age of 80 on the day the Pope dies or resigns.

“Until another Korean archbishop is appointed as Cardinal, starting next year no one from Korea would be able to vote if the seat of the Pope becomes vacant,” said Lee Young-sik, a member of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, explained.

Both Archdiocese of Seoul and the Embassy of Vatican in Korea said nothing had been confirmed regarding Cheong’s resignation.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)