Kwangseok Park, Director of the Korea Meteorological Administration, Unanimously Elected as Executive Director of the World Meteorological Organization

Term Served Until 2023
Maintained Executive Director Status Since 2007

Director Park Kwang-seok of the Korea Meteorological Administration is holding a video conference with the Chair of the WMO Asia Regional Association.

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Park Kwang-seok, the Commissioner of the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), has been elected as an Executive Council Member of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

On the 28th, the KMA announced that Park Kwang-seok was unanimously elected by the Asian member countries in the WMO Executive Council by-election.

The WMO Executive Council is a key executive body that oversees and coordinates various projects and budgets. It is composed of 37 members from 193 member countries, with each member being the head of their respective national meteorological agency. The WMO, as the successor to the International Meteorological Organization, promotes global cooperation necessary for establishing meteorological observation networks, exchange of meteorological observation information, and standardization of meteorological observations.

With Park’s election as an Executive Council Member, South Korea has maintained its status as an Executive Council member country since 2007. Park will serve his term until 2023. This is regarded as a result of South Korea’s elevated status and trust in the international community as a technology donor country in the meteorological and climate fields.

On the 28th, Park held his first video conference with the Chair of the WMO Regional Association for Asia (the Commissioner of the UAE Meteorological Authority). The Chair requested a leading role in strengthening regional programs for climate change response and capacity building among member countries.

Park expressed his commitment to bridging the meteorological technology gap between developed and developing countries through Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects and training programs at the WMO Regional Training Centre in Korea (RTC-Korea). The heads of the two meteorological agencies agreed on the need to strengthen technical cooperation by sharing experimental results and promoting expert exchanges for the advancement of artificial rainfall technology between the two countries.

Park Kwang-seok, Commissioner of the KMA, said, "My election as a WMO Executive Council Member reflects international recognition of South Korea’s efforts to address climate change, including the Green New Deal and the 2050 Carbon Neutrality Declaration." He added, "As a WMO Executive Council Member, I will strengthen efforts to respond to the climate crisis internationally and to build a climate-resilient society domestically."

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