South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin delivers a keynote speech at the 42nd session of the general conference of UNESCO on Nov. 19, 2023, in this photo provided by the ministry. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL/PARIS, Nov. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea has been elected to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for a four-year term through 2027, officials here said Thursday, marking the country’s fourth such election as a member of the committee.
Seoul regained the membership at the 24th session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage that opened at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris on Wednesday (local time) for a two-day run, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration.
South Korea’s foreign ministry described the country’s election to the committee as a byproduct of its “active” diplomacy based on its contribution to the world heritage institution.
“As South Korea has made a pledge to the international community during the campaign for the membership, it plans to make a leading contribution to the development of the world heritage institution in consideration of the new tasks of our times, including responses to climate change and coexistence between the regional communities and heritage,” the ministry said in a statement.
South Korea clinched one of the two seats allocated to Asian-Pacific countries.
Along with South Korea, eight other countries, including Vietnam, Ukraine and Kenya, were elected to the committee.
It marks the fourth time that South Korea has been elected as one of the 21 state members of the committee following 1997, 2005 and 2013.
The committee has the final say on whether a property is inscribed on the World Heritage List. It also examines conservation condition reports of inscribed properties and asks state parties to take action when properties are not being properly managed.
(Yonhap)
