Korean diplomat Yun Seong-deok elected head of ILO governing body

Ambassador to Geneva Yun Seong-deok speaks during a meeting at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on Jan. 23. [YONHAP]

Ambassador to Geneva Yun Seong-deok was elected chairperson of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Governing Body, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday.

Yun was selected as the chairman of the ILO for the 2024 to 2025 term at the 351st general session of the organization’s governing body held Saturday in Geneva.

Yun was the only candidate for the chairperson position, which oversees the ILO's policies and budget.

This is the first time in 21 years since 2003 that Korea has assumed the chairperson seat of the ILO Governing Body. Yun was independently recommended as a candidate for the chairpersonship.

Yun, a graduate of Seoul National University, entered the foreign service in 1989 and has since held positions in Geneva and Brussels. He served as ambassador to Morocco from 2018 to 2021 and has been ambassador to Geneva since December 2022.

Founded in October 1919, the ILO is a UN agency mandated to advance social and economic justice by setting international labor standards.

“We will use our diplomatic capabilities to become an ILO that protects the vulnerable and contributes to the creation of quality jobs in response to the demands of a changing labor environment due to climate change response and digital transformation,” said Yun after the decision.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]