1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minister Kang Kyung-wha) and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (Minister Kim Young-choon) announced that a proposal to extend current Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Lim Ki-tack’s tenure until 2023 (first term 2016-2019, second term 2020-2023) was passed unanimously by 40 members of the IMO Council at its 121st session, held in London, the United Kingdom, on November 22 (local time). The IMO Secretary-General has a four-year term, and can serve two consecutive terms.

2. The Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and the ROK Embassy in the UK (Ambassador Park Enna) have worked to garner support for Secretary-General Lim’s reappointment from the 40 members of the IMO Council, citing his expertise and achievements in office. They analyzed each Council member’s opinions, and have created a favorable atmosphere by showing the Republic of Korea government’s great confidence in him through a dinner at the ROK Embassy in London, and meetings with key officials from the Council members.

3. As a result, the 40 members of the Council passed unanimously the proposal for reappointment at the 121st session. In particular, major countries, including the Republic of Panama, the UK, the United States, the Commonwealth of Australia, and the French Republic, spoke highly of the leadership that Secretary-General Lim had demonstrated, managing the Secretariat in a stable manner for the past three years. They also considered him the right person to lead major issues, such as the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships, and thus showed active support for his reappointment.

4. As the Council members agreed on his reappointment at the 121st session, the proposal for reappointment will be submitted to the 31st session of the IMO Assembly, to be held in December next year, and be finally approved. If the proposal obtains approval at the Assembly session, Secretary-General Lim will serve as head of the UN agency for eight years until 2023.

5. Secretary-General Lim is recognized as an all-around administrator equipped with practical and administrative capabilities through experiences of boarding merchant ships and serving as a government official handling marine affairs and fisheries for 30 years. He has attended the IMO’s various meetings as a member of the ROK delegation since 1986, and served as Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Flag State Implementation, one of the IMO’s special committees, from 2002 to 2005. He also served as the IMO’s liaison officer (1998-2001), and minister-counselor at the ROK Embassy in the UK (2006-2009).

6. Since being inaugurated as the 9th IMO Secretary-General in 2016, becoming the first Korean Secretary-General of the IMO, he has led the organization in a stable manner for the past three years, and showed excellent leadership, coordinating different interests of developed and developing countries in a balanced manner.

7. In particular, Secretary-General Lim was highly commended for presenting the new way forward for the IMO by adopting the “IMO’s Strategic Plan 2018-2023” (December 2017), which stresses the importance of smart and environmentally-friendly shipping, and for his efforts to promote sustainable shipping and protect the marine environment by strengthening environmental regulations through the adoption of the “IMO's Initial GHG strategy” (April 2018).

8. An ROK government official said that the agreement on the proposal for Secretary-General Lim’s reappointment strengthened the position of the ROK as a country whose national became the IMO Secretary-General, and as a Council member under the IMO’s Category A, and that it also laid a strong foundation for taking the lead in making key maritime policies, and for leading new international regulations along with the industry.

* unofficial translation