Following the UN Security Council, a 'Double Celebration'... Lee Ja-hyung, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director, Appointed as Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

Lee Ja-hyung, Director General of the International Legal Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was elected as a judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). This is another double celebration following the recent election of a non-permanent member to the United Nations Security Council. With this, South Korea has achieved the remarkable feat of producing judges of the same nationality for three consecutive terms since the establishment of ITLOS.

According to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations on the 14th (local time), Lee ran for the ITLOS judgeship election held at the UN Headquarters in New York on the occasion of the 33rd Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and secured 144 votes out of 164 countries. Amid competition among South Korea, Japan, and Iraq for two vacancies in the Asia-Pacific regional group, Lee was elected as a judge along with Japan’s candidate Hidehisa Horinouchi.

Thus, South Korea has consecutively produced three judges since ITLOS was established in 1996. The late Judge Park Chun-ho served from 1996 to 2008, and Judge Baek Jin-hyun has been active since 2009 and continues to serve. ITLOS is a permanent international tribunal that handles disputes concerning the interpretation and application of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which forms the foundation of maritime order. It consists of 21 judges serving nine-year terms (renewable). With the advancement of a current diplomat and maritime law expert, it is expected that South Korea’s status and contributions in the field of maritime law will be enhanced in the future.

Judge Lee, who was elected, is an international law expert who has served as Director of the International Legal Affairs Division, Legal Counselor at the Permanent Mission to the UN, Ambassador to Afghanistan, and currently as Director General of the International Legal Affairs Bureau. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs evaluated that this election result reaffirms the international community’s sympathy and trust in the values and efforts that South Korea, aspiring to be a global pivotal state, has advocated and pursued.

Judge Lee expressed his gratitude, saying, “I feel joy as well as a heavy sense of responsibility,” and added, “Being a Korean candidate was the most significant factor in my election. I will strive to be a judge who meets the trust and expectations of the international community toward Korea.”

Meanwhile, in this election where a total of seven seats were filled, besides South Korea and Japan from the Asia-Pacific region, Poland from Eastern Europe, Iceland from Western Europe, Argentina from Latin America and the Caribbean, and South Africa and Sierra Leone from Africa also produced judges of their respective nationalities.

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