1. Deputy Ambassador Choi Jai-chul at the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Korea to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was elected as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE) at the 154th session of the BIE General Assembly held in Paris, France, on November 27.

2. The BIE is an intergovernmental organization established under the 1928 Paris Convention to oversee matters concerning international exhibitions and composed of 168 member states. It comprises four committees, one of which is the Executive Committee that mainly handles matters related to the selection of hosts and the organization of international exhibitions.

° Pursuant to the Paris Convention, the Chairman of the Executive Committee, unlike those of the other three committees of the BIE, can serve three two-year terms in a row. In case the Chairman of the General Assembly passes away, the Executive Committee Chairman serves as Acting Chairman of the General Assembly.

3. Following its accession to the BIE in 1987, the ROK successfully hosted the Daejeon Expo in 1993 and the Yeosu Expo in 2012. The service of Deputy Ambassador Choi as Chairman of the BIE Executive Committee from January 1, 2014, is expected to help enhance the ROK’s standing in the BIE and boost the ROK’s diplomacy related to international exhibitions. 


                        Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

* unofficial translation