Korea's voting rights in global financial organizations remained small relative to its economic size, data showed Wednesday, highlighting the need for the country to enhance its global profile to better reflect its opinions on the global stage.
According to the data provided by the finance ministry, the Bank of Korea and other related agencies, South Korea stood at about 20th on average in terms of voting rights in global financial organizations.
Korea holds 1.37 percent of voting rights in the International Monetary fund, which is the 18th largest among its 188 member countries.
Its voting rights in the International Development Association of the World Bank Group are 0.73 percent, the 24th of 172 members. In the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank, Korea's voting rights stood at 0.67 percent, the 28th of 184 countries.
Voting rights in such global organizations are given in proportion to the contributions each country makes for the group's operation.
The ranking remains relatively low compared to South Korea's economic size.
According to the IMF, Korea's nominal gross domestic product is the 15th largest in the world and its purchasing power parity-based GDP comes in at 12th.
Experts said the discrepancy could hamper Korea from reflecting its opinions in key decision-making processes on the global stage, and called for the government to step up efforts to raise its profile in such organizations. (Yonhap)