A South Korean has run for election as a judge with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for the first time. South Korea has never nominated a candidate for the judge election since the founding of the ICJ.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 6th, Baek Jin-hyun, an honorary professor at Seoul National University who served as a judge and president of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), has announced his candidacy for the ICJ judge election to be held at the end of 2026. The United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council will vote simultaneously, and a candidate will be finally elected if they receive an absolute majority from both sides.
An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted, "Professor Baek is an international law expert with extensive experience in international adjudication and academic background, making him the optimal candidate for the ICJ judge."
Professor Baek has taught and conducted research in international law at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security and Seoul National University's Graduate School of International Studies. He served as a judge at ITLOS from 2009 to 2023, and as president from 2017 to 2020. He has also presided over or served as a judge in numerous inter-state arbitration cases and was internationally recognized for these contributions, being elected as the only Korean lifetime member of the International Academy of International Law, a prestigious academic association established in 1873.
The ICJ, located in The Hague, Netherlands, is a permanent international court established under the United Nations Charter in 1945, composed of 15 judges of different nationalities elected by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council (UNSC). The term for a judge is nine years, and re-election is possible. An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "Based on our experience in the development of the rule of law and democracy, we have long believed that it is necessary for South Korea to contribute to the international law field commensurate with our status and national dignity, and that someday pursuing entry into the ICJ would be needed."