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South Korean President Moon Jae-in presides over a meeting of senior secretaries and aides at the Blue House on Oct. 12. (Yonhap News)

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, along with the rest of the Blue House, the government, and the ruling Democratic Party, plan to fully support Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, who has reached the final stage of the selection process for the next head of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

On Oct. 16, Moon personally led an hour-long meeting of a Blue House committee organized to support Yoo’s candidacy for WTO director-general. Also attending the meeting were Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, and Chief of Staff Noh Young-min.

”Let’s continue to emphasize that Yoo is the right person to reform the WTO. During the time that remains, I will lobby for Yoo through diplomatic correspondence and phone calls to the leaders of other countries,” Moon was quoted as saying by Blue House Spokesperson Kang Min-seok.

After instructing Chung to “actively engage in diplomacy as prime minister,” Moon asked Lee Nak-yon, leader of the Democratic Party, to “play a diplomatic role in the countries that you visited while serving as prime minister.”

In effect, Moon has asked the ruling party, the government, and the Blue House to throw their full weight behind the candidacy of Yoo, who hopes to become the first Korean, as well as the first woman, to lead the WTO.

“All available resources will be mobilized to secure Yoo’s election, and the various support roles will be systematically assigned,” said Kang, the spokesperson.

Though Yoo’s rival Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former finance minister of Nigeria, is slightly favored to win, Yoo’s prospects are on the rise. The Blue House believes that Yoo’s election would serve the national interest by halting a recent shift toward protectionism.

“During the final round, from Oct. 19 to 27, I will do my best to secure votes from each region so that I can become a director-general who enjoys the support of every member state,” Yoo said while expressing her gratitude for the president’s backing.

The WTO will elect its next director-general on Nov. 7.

By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter

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