Government of South Korea
Kong was awarded the Niwano Peace Prize in 2000. In 1998, he was selected as one of the 24 people who helped shape Korean history in a public poll conducted by Manifestation d'Art Nouveau International et Forum. He was awarded the Mugunghwa Medal of the Order of Civil Merit by the Government of South Korea posthumously. He died in 2006, survived by his wife and three children.