Korean named to head UN oceanographic panel

[Slack lines]

A Korean scientist has been named the new chief of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), Seoul’s maritime ministry said yesterday.

 

Byun Sang-kyung, 61, was elected to head the Paris-based organization yesterday, becoming the first Korean to hold the top post of the UN commission that coordinates the exchange of information and data between member states and their national oceanographic data centers, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.

 

The IOC also oversees the International Coordination Group for tsunami warnings in the Pacific.

 

“With his election, the country now has an opportunity to improve its maritime diplomacy, along with its national image in the international community, and play a vital role in promoting international cooperation for the 2012 Yeosu Expo,” the ministry said.

 

A native of North Jeolla, Byun graduated from Seoul National University in 1972 and received his master’s and doctorate degrees from France’s Universite de Bretagne Occidentale in Brest

joongangdaily.joins.com