Myeong-hee Myung-hee, head of the trade negotiations headquarters of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (pictured) voluntarily resigned from the post of candidate for secretary general of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It was a decision to normalize the WTO, which has been in a state of leadership vacancy for a long time due to an unsuccessful election agreement. Head of headquarters Myung-hee Myung-hee said he plans to resign as the next WTO secretary-general candidate at a press conference on the 5th and notify the WTO. With the resignation of General Manager Yoo, the next WTO secretary-general is expected to be elected by Nigeria’s nominee Okonjoyweala (former Finance Minister), who was the final rival. Previously, Director Yoo held a total of three votes to elect the secretary general in the second half of last year. Director Yoo competed with eight candidates from around the world and passed both the first and second rounds of votes. In the final match, they faced one-on-one with Candidate Okonjoyweala. After a survey of country preferences, the final announcement was made on October 28 last year that Candidate Okonjoyweala gained more preferences than General Manager Yoo, but the U.S. opposes the results, and the election for the WTO secretary-general was sharply confused. The election for the secretary-general of the WTO is based on a unanimous agreement of all members, as opposition was stubborn in the United States, the largest member state. It even issued a statement from the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and exercised a de facto veto (Vito) against Candidate Okonjoyweala. A government official explained, “In the second round of voting to recommend multiple candidates, the United States is known to have written only the name of Director Yoo twice.”
In response to the blind support from the United States, then General Manager Yoo himself dismissed the possibility of resignation, saying, “At the final stage, it is not someone who resigns, but it is a process of reaching consensus among potential candidates, and that is still in progress.” Rather, regarding the difference in votes from the opponent, Candidate Okonjoyweala, he said, “The WTO chairman has never disclosed or said the difference in votes,” and said, “The difference in votes in media reports is not the basis of public confidence disclosed by the WTO.” He also expressed his will to reversal.
However, this long-term phase of war changed when the US administration, which had expressed its support position, changed from President Donald Trump to President Joe Biden. As the election pledge of the Biden administration was a rapid recovery of multilateralism, the WTO’s leadership paralysis could no longer be neglected.
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