▲ This Reuters file photo shows the U.N. headquarters before a meeting on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty at the United Nations, in New York on April 27, 2026. (Yonhap)
▲ A sculpture symbolizing the 2025 Jeju Forum is installed at the Jeju International Convention Center in Jeju's Seogwipo in this May 28, 2025, file photo. (Yonhap)

Jeju forum-UN chief candidates

Int'l peace forum to be held in June in Jeju; all U.N. chief candidates to gather to share vision

SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- An annual international peace forum will be held on South Korea's southern island of Jeju next month to explore ways to enhance cooperation amid intensified geopolitical challenges, with all candidates for the next U.N. secretary-general expected to gather to present their visions, officials said Tuesday.

Under the main theme of "Reimagining Cooperation in an Era of Fragmentation," the 21st Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity will take place from June 24-26 in Seogwipo, Jeju Island, bringing together thousands of government officials and experts, including former and incumbent senior officials.

"Drawing particular attention is that all candidates for the next U.N. secretary-general are expected to gather in Jeju, where they will present their visions for how they plan to lead the international community and the U.N. in the years ahead amid unprecedented uncertainty surrounding the international order," a ministry official said.

The race to choose the successor to incumbent Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is currently under way. Five candidates have officially entered the race: Michelle Bachelet, former Chilean president; Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Rebeca Grynspan, secretary-general of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development; Macky Sall, Senegal's former president; and Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, Ecuador's former foreign minister.

"There are only two confirmed occasions where all the candidates will gather outside the U.N. to present their visions as prospective secretary-general candidates, and that underscores our soft-power diplomacy and the growing significance of the Jeju Forum," the official added.

The forum will feature sessions exploring global issues through five key agendas, including cooperation for peace and security amid strategic competition among major powers; shared prosperity through economic, educational, climate and energy transitions; and global governance and cooperation in the era of artificial intelligence and digital innovation.

The event will be co-hosted by the Jeju provincial government and South Korea's foreign ministry, which is the first time the ministry has jointly organized the annual forum as it aims at enhancing the forum's global standing, ministry officials said.

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