1. On October 29, Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs Kang Jeong-sik had a meeting with Registrar of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Peter Lewis who was on a visit to the Republic of Korea (ROK). During the meeting, the two sides discussed ways to promote substantive cooperation between the ROK and the ICC and signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea and the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the Promotion of Equitable Geographical Representation and Gender Balance among the Staff of the International Criminal Court.   

2. Deputy Minister Kang mentioned that the ROK government, based on its support for the efforts to maintain international peace through the rule of law, has worked with the ICC in various ways, including by promoting universality of the Rome Statute of the ICC. He went on to suggest that the two sides continue to strengthen their substantive cooperation.

° In addition, the Deputy Minister took note of the ICC Registry’s priority on the promotion of equitable geographical representation among the ICC staff and expressed hope that a larger number of competent ROK nationals would build presence in the ICC and thereby help enhance the mutually beneficial cooperative relations between the two sides.

3. Registrar Lewis extended appreciation to the ROK government for its continued active cooperation since the establishment of the ICC and agreed on the need to step up bilateral cooperation in advancing the ICC.

4. On the heels of the meeting, Deputy Minister Kang and Registrar Lewis signed an MOU for the promotion of the equitable geographical representation among the staff of the ICC. Under the MOU, the two sides can now set up a channel for exchanging recruitment information and hold joint job fairs.

° The MOU is expected to contribute to not only substantially promoting the ROK-ICC relations but also building ROK nationals’ presence at international organizations and creating quality jobs.

5. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while retaining its substantive cooperative relations with the ICC, will continue to engage in the international community’s activities to maintain international peace and safety through the rule of law.