"WTO Secretary-General Election, Efforts to Gain Support from All Countries Including Japan"

Director Yoom Myung-hee's Policy Speech on the 16th Our Time
"Candidate Qualifications Over Regional and Gender Distribution"
"Trade Disputes with Japan Are Unrelated to the Election Campaign"

Yoo Myung-hee, Director-General for Trade at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. On the 15th (local time, 16th Korea time), she will deliver her policy speech for the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General election at the headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (Photo by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government announced that it will strive to gain the support of all countries, including Japan, in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretary-General election where Yoo Myung-hee, the Chief Trade Negotiator, is running.

On the 14th, a Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy official said this during a meeting with reporters at the Government Complex Sejong. Rather than focusing on surrounding factors such as trade conflicts with Japan and the eight-way election race, the emphasis is on Yoo being the right candidate to revive multilateral trade.

The ministry official stated, "We will do our utmost to gain the support of all countries, including Japan," and added, "We believe Yoo has a good chance of winning as she has built personal relationships through her extensive experience with multilateral agreements and frequent exchanges."

Yoo will deliver her policy speech for about 15 minutes on the 15th (local time, which is the 16th in Korean time) at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, as the fifth of eight candidates.

After the policy speeches, the chairs of the General Council, the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), and the Trade Policy Review (TPR) will each ask the Geneva-based voters from various countries for their opinions. The process of eliminating candidates with many opposing votes will be repeated.

Korea emphasizes that, given the current emergency situation that determines the fate of the WTO, it is time to focus on the candidate’s qualifications rather than on 'regional balance' or 'gender allocation.'

The ministry official said, "When the ship called WTO is sinking, if we do not choose someone qualified and capable of plugging the holes and providing direction, the WTO may never rise again. We will approach the election with this urgent mindset."

Earlier, on the 12th, Yoo entered the election with the so-called '3R' pledge: to create a WTO that is more Relevant, Resilient, and Responsive.

The ministry official said, "Among the 3Rs, the most painful word is 'Relevant,'" and added, "Recently, international trade issues have been discussed not at the WTO but at the Group of 20 (G20) and Group of Seven (G7). We will emphasize how long this situation can continue."

He clarified that the trade conflict with Japan is a separate issue from the WTO Secretary-General election. The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) meeting related to the trade dispute with Japan is likely to be held on the 29th.

He noted that the difference in positions between Korea and Japan is so large that it may take time just to select the three panel members. Recently, it has taken an average of 5.6 months to select panels. The panel report is generally issued 10 to 13 months after the panel installation request.

The ministry official said, "We will respond to export regulations separately and handle the election separately."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.