1. It has been confirmed at the 24th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP24) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held in Katowice, Poland, from December 2 to 15, that the Republic of Korea will serve as member of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board for the third term of Board membership, member of the Standing Committee on Finance (SCF), and member of the Advisory Board of the Climate Technology Center and Network (CTCN).

o (GCF) The Director General of the Development Finance Bureau of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will serve as board member and alternate board member for the third term of Board membership (2019-2021) in turn*.

* The ROK will serve as alternate board member for Iran for two years (2019-2020), and board member in 2021 (Iran will serve as alternate board member for the ROK).

- The ROK’s re-election to the GCF Board and first-ever election as board member are expected to further increase the ROK’s voice and influence within the GCF, and thereby help the country take the lead in responding to climate change issues in the international community.

o (SCF) Following its membership on the Standing Committee on Finance this year, the ROK will continue to serve as its member in 2019.

- As member of the SCF this year, the ROK hosted its forum in the ROK, and has actively participated in the processes to make reports on climate finance, and to develop operational guidelines for the GCF.

o (CTCN) The head of the R&D Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Science and ICT will serve on the Advisory Board of the CTCN for two years (2019-2020).

2. During COP24, the ROK delegation, consisting of officials from the Foreign Ministry (Ambassador for Climate Change), the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Ministry of Science and ICT, took part in three official meetings on elections and a number of unofficial meetings on elections attended by 58 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. In the meetings, the ROK delegation actively explained the ROK’s roles and how it would contribute, as well as why the ROK should serve as member of the GCF Board, the CTCN Advisory Board, and the SCF.

o In particular, as member of the secretariat of the Asia-Pacific Regional Group, the ROK, along with Iran and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, coordinated the Group’s overall election activities, contributing to enhancing the ROK’s status in international negotiations on climate change.

3. Meanwhile, the Parties to the UNFCCC failed to adopt the conclusion of the IPCC special report on 1.5°C at the session of subsidiary bodies held during the first week of the Conference due to oppositions from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States, but the ROK delegation’s active negotiation activities led to its inclusion in the Decision of the Conference at the closing session.

* unofficial translation