Paek Kee-bong, a lawyer at the Kim & Chang law firm. (Photo from the homepage of the Kim & Chang law firm)
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK/SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean lawyer was elected as a judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the 2024-2033 period, the court’s website showed Thursday, marking the third time that a South Korean national has won a seat at the court.
Paek Kee-bong, a lawyer at Kim & Chang, a South Korean law firm, was elected during a session of the Assembly of State Parties at U.N. headquarters in New York on Wednesday (local time).
He was among six newly elected ICC judges, clinching the seat by winning 83 votes out of 123.
Paek graduated from the college of law at Seoul National University in 1987 and from Columbia Law School in 1998. He earned his Ph.D. in international law from Hanyang University in 2008.
He previously worked as a state prosecutor for more than two decades. He also served as a senior prosecutorial and judicial advisor at the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime’s regional office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok from 2011-2014.
South Korea’s foreign ministry welcomed the election of Paek, saying “South Korea has achieved the feat of advancing its judges for the fourth consecutive time since the establishment of the ICC.”
“With various experiences and a deep understanding of the Rome Statute, Paek is expected to play a significant role in improving the efficiency of trials by (addressing issues of) serious crimes and victim relief dealt with by the ICC, as well as utilizing advanced IT technology,” the ministry said in a press release.
Currently, Chung Chang-ho of South Korea sits on the ICC bench with his nine-year term set to end in March next year. Song Sang-hyun, another South Korean national, served as an ICC judge from 2003-2015. From 2009-2015, Song also worked as the court president.
Headquartered at The Hague, the ICC investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with grave crimes of concern to the international community — genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression, according to its website.
The court has a total of 18 judges who are elected by the Assembly of State Parties for a nine-year, nonrenewable term. The judges elect, from among themselves, the ICC president and two vice presidents.
It has 123 state parties, including South Korea, Japan, Britain, France, Germany and Italy.
(Yonhap)
