Oh to head key UN body
By Yi Whan-woo
Oh Joon
Oh Joon, Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations, will assume the presidency of a key U.N. body on sustainable development, the government said Wednesday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Oh will be selected as the president of the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for a one-year term during its session to be held in New York, Friday.
Oh, a career diplomat, will be the first Korean to head ECOSOC, one of the six major U.N bodies, the foreign ministry said. The five other organs are the General Assembly, Security Council, Trusteeship Council, Secretariat and International Court of Justice.
Oh’s new mission comes as the U.N. seeks to draft a post-2015 development agenda to last through 2030.
A representative from the world’s five continents -- Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Americas and Africa -- serve as the ECOSOC president in rotation, according to the government.
Oh will replace Martin Sajdik from Austria.
The 54-state ECOSOC is in charge of coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations in the economic, social and environmental sectors.