1. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his wife will visit the Republic of Korea from May 18 through 22 to attend the opening ceremony of the World Education Forum (WEF) 2015 set to take place in Songdo, west of Seoul, on May 19.

2. During his visit to the country, the UN Secretary-General will also attend an Asian Leadership Conference, a UN Global Compact (UNGC) Leaders Summit and a special event with international organizations stationed in the ROK on May 19; as well as a Seoul Digital Forum, a UN Academic Impact (UNAI) Seoul Forum, and the special event to be co-hosted by the UN Association of the ROK, the World Federation of UN Associations (WFUNA) and the Korean Council on Foreign Relations to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the UN on May 20. In addition, he will receive an honorary doctorate from Ewha Womans University on May 20.

◦ Furthermore, the Secretary-General will make a courtesy call on President Park Geun-hye and hold meetings with National Assembly Speaker Chung Ui-hwa and Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se. On those occasions, the two sides will discuss such key issues as the ROK-UN relations, climate change and the post-2015 development agenda as well as the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

◦ On the heels of the opening ceremony of the WEF 2015 on May 19, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will hold a joint press conference with UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova in Songdo.

3. In the year 2015 marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the UN and the Korean Peninsula’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s visit to the ROK is expected to serve as a good opportunity to shed renewed light on the special ties between the ROK and the UN and to seek ways for the middle-power ROK and the UN to work together toward world peace and prosperity.

* unofficial translation