Yoo Myung-hee Advances to WTO Next Director-General Final Round... First Korean Leader Expected

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Nigeria Candidate and Runoff

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Yoo Myung-hee, Director-General for Trade Negotiations, and Nigerian candidate Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala have advanced to the third and final round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General election.

On the 8th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that at 11 a.m. local time in Geneva, the WTO General Council Chair revealed the results of the second-round preference survey conducted among member countries from September 24 to October 6 for the next WTO Director-General election. Among the five candidates, two, including Director-General Yoo, advanced to the third round.

Since nominating Yoo Myung-hee as the candidate for the next WTO Director-General at the end of June to contribute to the development of the multilateral trading system, the government has provided support in various ways.

President Moon Jae-in has held phone calls with leaders of WTO member countries such as Germany, Russia, and Brazil, and sent letters to key leaders. High-ranking officials from the government and National Assembly, including National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, and Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee Chairman Song Young-gil, have supported Director-General Yoo’s election campaign directly and indirectly through phone consultations, meetings, letters, and on-site visits.

Despite the COVID-19 situation, Director-General Yoo actively conducted local support negotiations by visiting major overseas locations such as Geneva and the United States four times from July to October. A joint task force (TF) involving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and other ministries provided comprehensive support for Yoo’s candidacy through missions worldwide, including the Permanent Mission to Geneva.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "Initially, there was a forecast that the second round would be unfavorable to our candidate because support would consolidate based on regional or historical ties, such as Africa or the Commonwealth, rather than individual qualifications. However, overcoming these expectations, Director-General Yoo received high evaluations for her expertise in trade, political capabilities, and the elevated national status due to Korea’s successful K-quarantine efforts, securing relatively balanced support from member countries across regions including Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and Central Asia."

The WTO plans to conduct a final (third) preference survey among the two candidates who passed the second round and select the next Director-General through a consensus-building process by the deadline of November 7. The specific schedule for the final round will be announced by the WTO General Council Chair after consultations with member countries.

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