Five candidates from Korea, Nigeria, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom advanced to the second round of consultations for the selection of the WTO Director-General, which took place between July and early September. Three candidates from Mexico, Egypt, and Moldova, who failed to garner sufficient support, were eliminated.
According to Yonhap News Agency, citing an official release from the WTO Secretariat in the morning of July 18, South Korea’s Trade Representative, Minister of Commerce, Industry, Trade and Resources, Yu Myung-hee, successfully advanced to the second round of the election of the WTO Director General. Next, Yu will continue to compete with British Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox, Saudi Arabia’s former Minister of Economy and Planning Mohammed Al-Tuwejeri, Kenya’s Minister of Sports and Culture Amina Mohammed, and Nigeria’s former World Bank Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the final ticket.
The second round of member state consultations will be held from September 24 to October 6, at which time the list of candidates will be further narrowed down to two. Since each country can only support two candidates, the race will be more competitive. Thereafter, the final election schedule will be determined by the chair of the WTO General Council in consultation with member countries, and the new director general is expected to be elected by early November at the latest.
According to an official from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Industry, Myung-hee advanced to the second round thanks to her qualifications and professionalism as the current trade representative, the Republic of Korea’s rising international status in setting a model for “Korean vaccination,” and the strong collaboration of the government-wide task force throughout the campaign. During the campaign period, Yu Myung-hee visited Geneva and other European constituencies twice, traveled to the United States to canvass for votes, and met with ministerial and ambassadorial officials of more than 140 WTO member states on various occasions. The Ministry of Industry and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the ROK, together with the Permanent Missions of the ROK in Geneva and the embassies and consulates of the ROK in their respective countries, formed a strategic golden triangle to lobby for the support of the 163 WTO members and their permanent missions in Geneva. At the level of summit diplomacy, support for Yu Myung-hee was also solicited through phone calls and in-person meetings.
According to the report, the new WTO director-general will also be tasked with reconciling the tensions between major economic powers, reforming the organization in a radical way, as well as promoting free trade and helping the world economy recover.
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