청 "WTO General Director Preference Survey Result Is Not a Final Conclusion"

"President Moon Jae-in, Has Fully Committed Support"
"WTO Does Not Disclose Individual Vote Counts"

Yoo Myung-hee, head of the Trade Negotiations Division at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, who advanced to the final round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General election, is seen conversing with attendees at a reception she hosted on the 16th (local time) at the InterContinental Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland, inviting ambassadors from various countries stationed in Geneva.

Yoo Myung-hee, the chief trade negotiator who challenged for the position of Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), is reported to have fallen behind Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in the member countries' preference survey. In response, the Blue House stated on the 29th that "the preference survey results do not necessarily determine the final outcome."

A senior Blue House official told reporters on the same day, "President Moon Jae-in and the Blue House have fully supported Chief Yoo Myung-hee," adding, "There are official remaining procedures, and the relevant ministries (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc.) have provided explanations on how to respond."

The official also expressed skepticism about some foreign media reports mentioning the number of votes each candidate received. He explained, "According to WTO election procedures, the preference survey results are not supposed to be disclosed," and said, "Some foreign media reports mentioning specific vote counts with Nigeria are unilateral claims." He emphasized, "The WTO does not disclose individual vote counts."

On the 28th (local time), the Chair of the WTO General Council convened a meeting of all member countries and recommended Okonjo-Iweala as the Director-General, stating that she received more support in the preference survey. The government is reportedly considering accepting the WTO's recommendation, viewing it as difficult to overturn the result despite the United States' public support for Korea.

Meanwhile, regarding North Korea's harsh criticism through the state-run media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on the same day, referring to National Security Office Director Suh Hoon's recent visit to the United States, the Blue House did not issue any particular statement. A senior Blue House official said, "We do not think it is necessary to respond separately to the KCNA-related articles," and refrained from further comment.

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