President Moon Personally Calls Yoo Myung-hee to "Congratulate on Advancing to WTO Director-General Final Round"

"Strong Performance in Difficult Conditions... Sincere Congratulations"
Moon Provides Direct Support through Summit Diplomacy... Government Orders All-Out Effort
Yoo Myung-hee "Grateful for President's Leading Support"

President Moon Jae-in is having a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Blue House on the 1st. President Moon requested Chancellor Merkel's support for candidate Yoo Myung-hee.

President Moon Jae-in spoke by phone on the 8th with Yoo Myung-hee, the Director-General for Trade at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, who advanced to the final round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General election, and said, "I sincerely congratulate you."

During a 20-minute phone call starting at 3 p.m. that day, President Moon congratulated her, saying, "You performed well under difficult circumstances," according to Blue House spokesperson Kang Min-seok.

President Moon said, "The Nigerian candidate has an excellent background, but since Director-General Yoo has overcome tough situations to get this far, I hope she will leverage her relative strengths and succeed," adding, "If there are any areas where the President or our government should provide support, please let us know."

Director-General Yoo, who was under self-quarantine after recently returning from an overseas trip, replied, "I sincerely thank the President for taking the lead in actively supporting me," and said, "I will visit you once my one-week quarantine period ends."

In response, President Moon reiterated, "Please contact me anytime if you need anything," and ended the call.

Famous Yumi Cho, Director-General for Trade of the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Nigerian Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs, who advanced to the final round in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretary-General election, during their respective campaign press conferences held in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 15-16.

President Moon is urging an all-out government effort for Director-General Yoo.

During an internal meeting at the Blue House that morning, President Moon emphasized, "The biggest hurdle remains. Now that we have come this far, please make every possible effort," and added, "For the development of the multilateral trading system and the expansion of the free trade order, the government must spare no effort in providing support," according to spokesperson Kang.

This is the first time a Korean candidate has reached the final round of the WTO Director-General election, and the Blue House explained that this is the result of Director-General Yoo's hard work and the government's full-scale support, including that of President Moon.

Spokesperson Kang introduced, "When Director-General Yoo declared her candidacy on June 24, the outlook was uncertain. However, she secured a support base through three visits to the U.S. and Europe, and leveraged her advantage as the only incumbent minister-level candidate by continuously communicating with ministers from various countries."

President Moon Jae-in is having a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Blue House on the afternoon of the 28th of last month.

President Moon is also directly supporting Director-General Yoo through summit diplomacy.

According to spokesperson Kang, last month, when Kim Sang-jo, Chief of Staff for Policy at the Blue House, suggested that "the President should send a personal letter before major countries make decisions regarding the WTO Director-General," President Moon instructed, "Not only letters but also summit-level calls should be made with necessary countries. Do not spare any all-around support."

Since then, President Moon has sent letters to 35 countries and held calls with leaders of five countries, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Spokesperson Kang explained, "In the letters and summit calls, the President emphasized that Director-General Yoo is the right person to strengthen the WTO's functions and make it a resilient and responsive organization."

However, spokesperson Kang cautioned, "It is unwise to be overly optimistic or to jump to conclusions about the outcome," and said, "The government will do its best with a humble attitude, leaving the rest to fate."

Director-General Yoo will compete in the final round against Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. The WTO Secretariat is scheduled to officially announce the results at an informal ambassador-level meeting of the WTO on the morning of the 8th (local time).

With two female candidates advancing to the final round side by side, the WTO will have its first female Director-General in its 25-year history. If Director-General Yoo is ultimately elected, she will become the first female WTO Director-General and the first Korean to lead the WTO.

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