(2nd LD) S. Korea elected as member of UNESCO World Heritage Committee

▲ 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. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This file photo taken Jan. 3, 2022, shows the former gold mine on Sado Island off Niigata, northwest of Tokyo. (Yonhap)

(2nd LD) S Korea-UNESCO committee

(2nd LD) S. Korea elected as member of UNESCO World Heritage Committee

(ATTN: UPDATES with more info in last 4 paras; ADDS photo)

SEOUL/PARIS, Nov. 23 (Yonhap) -- 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.

Observers say South Korea's election could help expand its foothold in the committee at a time when Japan is pushing to have a former gold mine on Sado Island linked to the wartime forced labor of Koreans listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site next year.

"The government maintains the stance that it will continue to seek efforts together with UNESCO and the international community so that the whole history, including the painful one of the wartime forced laborers, is reflected," foreign ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a press briefing.

The ministry will continue to consult with UNESCO and relevant countries on the issue, he added.

Since Tokyo announced its bid to have the mine listed in February last year, South Korea has strongly protested against Japan's controversial push, as thousands of Koreans were forced into hard labor in the mine during World War II.

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