Kim Sook, the Korean ambassador to the United Nations, was elected president of the 41-nation governing body for a U.N. entity seeking to improve the lives of women and girls around the world, officials said Wednesday.
The election of Kim as president of the U.N. Women Executive Board was formally endorsed at a regular session of the U.N. group held in New York early this week, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
U.N. Women, officially known as the U.N. Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, was created last year after merging four U.N. divisions that dealt separately with women's and gender issues.
The group is headed by former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet.
"Ambassador Kim Sook. I congratulate you on your election as the new president of this board," Bachelet said in her speech at the session. "I very much look forward to continuing the excellent collaboration between U.N. Women and the board under your leadership."
Last year, Korea donated about $4.7 million in funds to the U.N. entity, the ministry said. (Yonhap)