Yeom Tae-young, Mayor of Suwon, Elected as 5th President of the World Toilet Organization

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Yeom Tae-young, mayor of Suwon, has been elected as the 5th president of the World Toilet Association (WTA).

The city of Suwon announced that Mayor Yeom was elected president at the '5th General Assembly and 11th Regular Board Meeting of the World Toilet Association,' held online on the 10th. The term is four years. Accordingly, Mayor Yeom will serve a third consecutive term as president since 2014, when he first became the 3rd president.

Mayor Yeom emphasized, "I hope public restrooms can be free from wealth disparity," adding, "WTA will play a role so that everyone can feel equality inside restroom stalls."

The WTA was founded in 2007 upon the proposal of former Suwon Mayor Shim Jae-deok. At the 6th World Toilet Representatives Meeting held in 2006, former Mayor Shim first proposed the establishment of the 'World Toilet Association,' and the WTA inaugural general meeting was held in Seoul in November of the following year.

Starting with the construction of public restrooms in 12 locations across 9 countries in Africa and Asia, including Ghana, Kenya, Laos, Mongolia, and Cambodia from 2008 to 2009, the WTA has built and donated 43 public restrooms in 18 developing countries up to this year.

The WTA was recognized for its expertise in the field of health and sanitation-related restrooms and obtained 'Special Consultative Status' from the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC) in July 2019.

The United Nations Economic and Social Council grants consultative status to NGOs with special capabilities to strengthen cooperation with global NGOs.

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