Press Briefing

Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Affairs Soosuk Lim

December 7, 2023  14:30  KST

Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

Korean candidate Paek Keebong was elected as a judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the election of the ICC judges for the 2024-2033 term held in New York early this morning.

Candidates from 13 countries vied for six seats in the election. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs carried out all-out campaign efforts for the Korean candidate through its overseas diplomatic missions, including the Permanent Mission to the United Nations, over a year. With the election of Paek, Korea has advanced its judges to the ICC for the fourth consecutive term since the establishment of the Court in 2002.

The election of Paek Keebong, which came after the election of Rhee Zha Hyoung as a judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in June, is a remarkable diplomatic achievement of Korea as a global pivotal state that contributes to the rules-based international order.

Moving on, Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin will have a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico Alicia Bárcena on December 8.

During Foreign Minister Bárcena’s visit to Korea, the two sides will discuss in depth ways to boost cooperation in building infrastructure and recovering from hurricane damage as well as trilateral cooperation for the development of Central America and cooperation on the international stage such as MIKTA.

(A question-and-answer session followed.)