In WTO Preference Survey, Yoo Myung-hee 'At a Disadvantage', Final Decision on 9th Next Month... Will There Be a Last-Minute Turnaround?

Consensus procedure, a consensus process remains; WTO to approve at special General Council meeting on the 9th next month
Some predict a late reversal is unlikely due to large preference differences
The US does not support the Nigerian candidate

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] It has been confirmed that Yoo Myung-hee, the Chief Negotiator for Trade, fell behind Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in the preference survey of member countries for the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General election held on the 28th. Since the election procedure still involves a consensus process to reach an agreement among member countries, the government plans to decide on future response measures with countries such as the United States that supported candidate Yoo.

On the 28th, at 11 a.m. local time in Geneva (7 p.m. Korean time), the WTO summoned the ambassadors of Korea and Nigeria stationed in Geneva to notify them of the preference survey results for each candidate. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "At the WTO member countries' ambassador-level meeting, the Chair of the WTO General Council announced that candidate Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala received more votes in the runoff round for the Director-General election."

The Chair of the General Council convened all member countries at 3 p.m. local time (11 p.m. Korean time) on the same day and recommended Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the new Director-General, stating that she received more support in the preference survey. Regarding this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "The Chair of the General Council plans to approve the candidate agreed upon through the consensus process among all member countries at the special General Council meeting to be held on the 9th of next month for the final appointment."

After receiving the results of this preference survey, the government held a meeting with related ministries to discuss future responses. Going forward, Chief Negotiator Yoo may either accept the preference survey results as recommended by the WTO and withdraw her candidacy or continue the election campaign until the 9th of next month, hoping for consensus among member countries. However, some speculate that the significant difference in preference makes it difficult to expect consensus. It is known that candidate Okonjo-Iweala claims to have received support from 104 out of the total 163 member countries.

Meanwhile, the United States announced at a meeting held at the WTO headquarters that it does not support Nigeria's candidate Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as WTO Director-General.