Minister Han Seung-Soo designated as candidate for UNGA chairman

The government Thursday designated foreign affairs and trade minister Han Seung-Soo as candidate for chairman of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to be elected at the 56th UNGA session on Sep. 11.

Han will be elected UNGA chairman without a vote through the official approval of the Asia Group Conference to be held in New York in May, presidential spokesman Park Joon-Young said.

This is the first time that the Republic of Korea has taken the chair of the UNGA since it joined the world body together with North Korea in 1991. Seoul had served as a board country of the U.N. Security Council in 1996 and 1997.

The total 55 previous UNGA chairmen break down to 28 ambassadors to the U.N., 24 foreign ministers, one lawmaker, one deputy prime minister and one former prime minister. A government official explained that countries with comparatively heavy diplomatic burdens used to nominate their U.N. ambassadors, while those with fewer burdens used to nominate foreign ministers.

Therefore Korea, with a large amount of pending diplomatic issues, nominated its foreign affairs and trade minister Han in an unusual bid to utilize the U.N. as a forum to pursue its national interest. The government is apparently seeking to secure worldwide support for peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and to solve pending diplomatic questions efficiently through the foreign minister, who will concurrently hold the UNGA chairmanship.

In particular, Han`s chairmanship is expected to influence either directly or indirectly Korea`s scheme to deter Japan from becoming a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, which it considers as a countermeasure against the Japanese history textbook distortions.

Boo Hyung-Kwon bookum90@donga.com