The race for director-general of the World Health Organization suddenly heated up over the past weekend. Belgium put forward Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, on Friday, and over the weekend Indonesia formally nominated Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin. Together with two candidates already in the field — Hanan Balkhy, WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, backed by Saudi Arabia, and former Qatari health minister Hanan Al Kuwari — that makes four.
And this week, the first major test came in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. High-level meetings tied to the WHO Regional Committee for Africa began on the 24th, drawing health leaders from 47 African member states. African countries hold seven of the 34 seats on the WHO Executive Board, which will narrow the field of candidates to a maximum of three next January. That is why the four candidates and their backers are racing to win Africa's support. Cha Ji-ho, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea and the Korean candidate, has also begun reaching out to the international community in Addis Ababa.
Watching this flurry of activity, I want to raise one question. Will South Korea once again merely watch the world move?
We already have two precedents. When Dr. Lee Jong-wook ran for WHO director-general in 2003, Korea was no powerhouse in international organization elections. But the government and its diplomats pulled together, and he won the final vote 17 to 15. It produced the first Korean to head a United Nations specialized agency. In 2006, the government backed Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon's bid for U.N. secretary-general and made history again. Neither campaign was launched because victory was assured from the outset. The possibility emerged because they ran, and it became history because the whole country stood behind them.
Twenty years have passed. Korea's economic strength, technological capability and cultural influence are incomparably greater than they were then. Yet among the current heads of 31 major international organizations in the U.N. system, not one is Korean. That is a disappointing reality for a country that contributes substantially to the international community and ranks among the world's 10 largest economies. A "leading nation" recognized by the world is not built on the size of its economy alone. What also matters is how much it takes part in the responsible posts where the rules and standards of the international community are written and shared problems are solved.
International organization elections are, of course, difficult. Victory cannot be guaranteed, and diplomatic resources are required. That is precisely why the decision must be made coolly, from the standpoint of the national interest. But there is no such thing as an international organization election in which a country fields a candidate only after victory has become certain. It is the state's role to find a competitive candidate, present that person to the world, and turn possibility into reality one step at a time through diplomacy.
Moreover, the WHO now carries meaning beyond that of a simple health agency. Since COVID-19, the world has faced a compound crisis of the next pandemic, climate change, antimicrobial resistance, war and refugees, population aging and chronic disease. At the same time, AI is transforming every area from diagnosis and drug development to disease forecasting and health policy. Who sets the rules for AI safety and ethics, data and international standards, and how, will shape human health and the future of industry for decades to come.
This is where South Korea has a story to offer the world. It grew from an aid recipient into a donor country, achieved universal health insurance, and built world-class medical, biotech and digital technology. It also holds the rare experience of understanding both the science and technology of advanced economies and the realities of developing countries. If the "leading nation in the age of AI" that we talk about is to be more than a slogan, we must take on responsibility on precisely this stage, where international norms are made.
The WHO election, too, should not be seen as one individual's political career path. Rather than which party someone belongs to, we should first ask what South Korea can do in the international community. On the matter of contesting the leadership of an international organization, at least, we need to move beyond the camp logic of domestic politics.
We are a country that has done such things before. When Korea bid for and prepared the 1988 Seoul Olympics, it was poorer than it is now and its international influence was smaller. But in the face of a national goal, the government, businesses, diplomats and the public pulled together. The Seoul Olympics went beyond a sporting event and became the occasion for the world to see South Korea anew. Producing the top leader of an international organization is no different. It would be neither an administration's achievement nor any party's victory. If it succeeds, it becomes an asset of the entire country.
The candidates now in the race are all excellent. But Korea, too, has a candidate capable of competing with confidence on the world stage. Cha, a physician and global health researcher, has worked in humanitarian settings of conflict and disaster, worked with the WHO, and studied climate change, migration, AI and the future of society. What matters is not which party's lawmaker he is, but whether he is someone South Korea can put before the world. Judging from my experience working alongside health leaders from many countries at the WHO over the past 20 years, I believe he is a candidate well worth putting into the contest.
Neither Lee Jong-wook nor Ban Ki-moon was a sure winner at the start. The path opened because the country believed in the possibility first and persuaded the world. In Addis Ababa, the contest among four candidates has already begun. The deadline for nominating candidates for WHO director-general is September 24. Time will not wait for us.
I hope South Korea moves a step further, from a country that faithfully follows the world's rules to one that helps write those rules and shape the future. On that path, there is no reason to separate progressive from conservative, or the governing party from the opposition. After 20 years, the door is opening for us again. This time, I hope South Korea does not turn away from it.
He is...
He graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine and earned a doctorate in public health from Harvard University in the United States. He served as an assistant professor at Seoul National University's Graduate School of Public Health and as an adjunct assistant professor at Harvard's School of Public Health. He worked at the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health, the South Pacific office and the Regional Office for the Western Pacific. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he headed the unit overseeing standards and methodology work in the Science Division at WHO headquarters. He spent about 20 years at the WHO and is now a visiting professor at Yonsei University's Institute for Global Health.
