Competing closely with Kazakhstan and Vietnam
Significant influence on Japan's Sado Mine after election
South Korea is once again challenging to become a member state of the World Heritage Committee, which reviews and decides on UNESCO World Heritage listings. According to the World Heritage Committee website on the 19th, the election for new member states of the World Heritage Committee, for which South Korea has applied, will be held at the World Heritage Convention General Assembly in Paris, France, on the 22nd (local time). The States Parties to the World Heritage Convention will elect nine new committee members to serve until 2027. In the Asia-Pacific group, three countries?South Korea, Kazakhstan, and Vietnam?are competing for two seats.
The World Heritage Committee is the highest decision-making body related to World Heritage, responsible for tasks such as listing, delisting, and monitoring the conservation status of heritage sites. It is composed of 21 member states out of the 195 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, with seats allocated by region. The term of office for committee members is six years according to the convention, but members voluntarily serve only four years. It is also customary to refrain from immediate re-election.
South Korea is making its fourth attempt to be elected as a committee member. It previously served three times: from 1997 to 2003, 2005 to 2009, and 2013 to 2017. The government has been actively engaging in diplomatic negotiations with the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention to secure election. Marking half a century since the establishment of the World Heritage system, South Korea emphasizes its intention to play a greater role for the "next 50 years." The World Heritage system operates based on the "Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage," adopted in 1972.
The government is also appealing that it will contribute to the development of the World Heritage system by sharing its know-how on heritage conservation and management with other countries. On the 10th (local time), Foreign Minister Park Jin attended the UNESCO General Assembly in Paris and appealed for support in his keynote speech, saying, "Based on your valuable support, we aim to be a diligent and balanced team player in the World Heritage Committee." The likelihood of election is considered high. In September, at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Cultural Heritage Administration Commissioner Choi Eung-cheon met with Ernesto Ottone Ramirez, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture, who proposed South Korea’s election to the committee. Commissioner Choi said at the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee’s audit, "I received a positive response that they would actively support us from the UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture."
This election is regarded as very important, especially since the decision on whether to list the Sado (佐渡) Mine in Japan, a forced labor site of Koreans during the Japanese colonial period, will be made at next year’s World Heritage Committee meeting. The World Heritage Committee is also conducting a status review of the Meiji Industrial Revolution heritage, including the Hashima (Gunkanjima) coal mine, which was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2015. If South Korea secures a seat on the World Heritage Committee, it is expected to have greater influence over these heritage sites. Japan pledged to disclose the "entire history," including the forced labor of Koreans, when the Meiji Industrial Revolution heritage was inscribed as a World Heritage site, but it has been criticized for not properly fulfilling this commitment.
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