1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korean National Police Agency have announced that at the 87th session of the Interpol General Assembly held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, from November 18 to 21, incumbent Vice President of Interpol and former Commissioner of the Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency Kim Jong-yang was elected Interpol President, marking the first such case in the history of the Republic of Korea police.

° The Interpol General Assembly session is a large-scale international event held on an annual basis among top public security officials from across the world under the slogan of “Connecting Police for a Safer World.” The 87^th session brought together some 1,300 people from 179 member states as well as the United Nations and other international organizations, demonstrating keen attention of the international community to Interpol.

° The election was held on November 21, the last day of the Interpol General Assembly session, as former President Meng Hongwei from China had resigned from the post in the middle of his tenure. All the participating countries took part in the free voting (on a one country one vote basis) for the new President.

2. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korean National Police Agency, in the campaigning process,

° Given the significance of the position of the Interpol President as the head of the premier international law-enforcement organization, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs supported President Kim’s bid by vigorously carrying out, in cooperation with other government agencies and through its overseas missions, activities to win support from government agencies of diplomatic missions' host countries. The ROK police’s competitiveness built through their exchanges and cooperation with police of other countries is said to have also contributed greatly to this successful bid.

° In his session opening remarks and campaign speech, Interpol President Kim Jong-yang pledged to prevent political bias toward and intervention in Interpol and to render strategic assistance to Asian, African and other marginalized member countries with a top priority on bridging the gap in public security capabilities between member states for a safer world. In doing so, he displayed “balanced leadership” and confidence, winning broad support from Interpol member states.

° In addition, during the Interpol General Assembly session, President Kim, as Vice President and chair of the session, handled various matters smoothly, having his outstanding capacity for crisis management as head of an international organization verified, all of which is analyzed to have contributed to his election as President.

3. New Interpol President Kim Jong-yang, who served as Police Attaché at the Consulate-General in Los Angeles, head of the police preparatory committee for the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit, Director-General of the Korean National Police Agency’s Foreign Affairs Bureau and Planning and Coordination Bureau, and Commissioner of the Gyeongnam and Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agencies, is known as a foreign affairs expert with broad human networks built through his international affairs capacity and excellent leadership during his service at those posts.

° In recognition of such career experiences, President Kim was elected the Interpol Executive Committee’s delegate from Asia in 2012 and Vice President in 2015, and started to work as acting President in October after the former President’s resignation, winning international recognition for his expertise and competence.

4. Interpol, officially the International Criminal Police Organization-INTERPOL, or ICPO-INTERPOL, is an international organization founded in 1923 for coordination and police cooperation among countries on international crimes, terrorism, disasters and other public security issues. This consultative body on public security with networks across the world is currently composed of 194 member states, a larger number than that of the United Nations, and headquartered in Lyon, the French Republic. Some 950 people dispatched from about 100 countries are working at this organization.

° In particular, the Interpol President carries out important duties and plays a significant role as the head of the Executive Committee that sets the Interpol’s way forward and supervises the body’s operations: Among the job descriptions of the President are chairing meetings of the General Assembly and the Executive Committee; making decisions regarding Interpol’s main policies and plans; and deliberating and making decisions on financial matters and projects.

5. With regard to the election result, President Kim Jong-yang mentioned that “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government agencies paid keen attention to my bid; the Korean National Police Agency rendered all-out support; and the ROK delegation to the General Assembly session robustly carried out campaign activities, all of which led to this good result.”

° The election of a Republic of Korea national as the President of Interpol, one of the world’s largest international organizations, marks a national feat. During Mr. Kim’s service as Interpol President, the Republic of Korea is expected to take to the next level its standing and role in the international community.

* unofficial translation