Japan Wins 117 Votes, Korea Gets 94... Defeat in UNESCO Intangible Heritage Committee Election

Indonesia, the Philippines, and Cambodia Win Four Asia-Pacific Seats
Korea Fails in Comeback Bid After Three Terms as Committee Member

On June 18 (local time), South Korea ran for a seat on the Intergovernmental Committee at the 11th session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, but was not elected.

Heo Min, Director of the Cultural Heritage Administration, speaking.

Competing for four new seats representing the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea faced Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, and Turkmenistan, but failed to secure a spot. The vote counts were as follows: Japan received 117 votes, Indonesia 113, the Philippines 106, and Cambodia 97. South Korea and Turkmenistan both received 94 votes.

This result is disappointing for South Korea, which previously served three terms on the committee: from 2008 to 2012, 2014 to 2018, and 2020 to 2024. Due to the regulation prohibiting consecutive terms and requiring a two-year hiatus after each term, South Korea returned after a break to run again but was unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, at the General Assembly, Heo Min, Director of the Cultural Heritage Administration, and other members of the Korean delegation discussed key agenda items such as revising the operational guidelines of the Convention and managing the Intangible Heritage Fund, calling for institutional improvements to enhance transparency and efficiency.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.