Korea's former ambassador to Unesco expected to be elected chair of World Heritage Committee
Published: 18 Nov. 2025, 10:30
Updated: 18 Nov. 2025, 18:17
![Lee Byong-hyun, a former ambassador to Korea’s Permanent Delegation to Unesco, expected to be elected chair of the Unesco World Heritage Committee [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/18/f62eba96-af01-4cd4-a054-25c230f592e3.jpg)
Lee Byong-hyun, a former ambassador to Korea’s Permanent Delegation to Unesco, expected to be elected chair of the Unesco World Heritage Committee [YONHAP]
Lee Byong-hyun, a former ambassador of Korea’s Permanent Delegation to Unesco, is expected to be elected chair of the Unesco World Heritage Committee, which is set to convene in Korea in July next year.
The Korean government has nominated Lee — who previously chaired Unesco’s Executive Board — as its candidate to chair the committee’s 48th session, according to the Korea Heritage Service on Monday. The election will take place during the 20th extraordinary session of the World Heritage Committee, scheduled for Nov. 25 at Unesco headquarters in Paris.
The World Heritage Committee oversees the inscription, preservation and management of World Heritage sites. In accordance with the committee’s rules of procedure, the chair presides over discussions, allocates speaking rights and leads the overall proceedings. It is customary for a representative from the host country to stand as the sole candidate and be confirmed by the committee.
A career diplomat who passed Korea’s 13th foreign service exam in 1979, Lee served as ambassador to Unesco from 2015 to 2019. In 2017, he became the first Korean to be elected chair of Unesco’s Executive Board.
This marks the first time since Korea joined the World Heritage Convention in 1988 that it will host the World Heritage Committee. The 48th session will be held in Busan from July 19 to 29.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KANG HYE-RAN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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