1. Emeritus Professor of Marine Geology Park Yong-ahn of Seoul National University was elected as Chairman of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) at the 44th session of the CLCS, held at UN headquarters in New York, the United States, on July 24 (local time).

2. Emeritus Professor Park Yong-ahn, who was elected as a founding member of the CLCS in 1997, served as Vice Chairman of the Commission, and was elected to the Commission for the fifth time at the 27th meeting of States Parties to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, held at UN headquarters in New York in June this year. Following such contributions to the Commission’s activities, he was elected as Chairman for a two and a half year term through an internal voting by the members of the CLCS at the 44th session.

3. The CLCS, established in June 1997 in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, reviews information submitted by coastal countries on the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles, and makes recommendations. Emeritus Professor Park’s election as Chairman is expected to not only raise the ROK’s global status in the area, but also contribute to examining information on the outer limits of the continental shelf swiftly and clearly.

4. Emeritus Professor Park is a senior expert in the ROK’s oceanography academic circles, who had worked as Professor of Marine Geology at Seoul National University until 2002, and served as President of the Korean Society of Oceanography. He received the National Academy of Sciences Award in 2006 and the Khubilai Khan medal from the Mongolian Academy of Sciences in 2009.


* unofficial translation