▲ Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks during the session "Reimagining Multilateralism: A Dialogue with U.N. Secretary-General Candidates" at the Jeju Forum on June 25, 2026, in this photo provided by the organizers. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
▲ Five candidates to lead the United Nations gathered on Jeju Island on June 25, 2026, to lay out their visions for the global institution under financial strain and struggling to stay relevant in a fractured world at the 21st edition of Jeju Forum, in this photo provided by the organizers. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
▲ A participant asks a question during the session "Reimagining Multilateralism: A Dialogue with U.N. Secretary-General Candidates" at the Jeju Forum on June 25, 2026, in this photo provided by the organizers. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Jeju Forum-session

At Jeju Forum, U.N. chief candidates vow to reclaim relevance

By Woo Jae-yeon

JEJU, South Korea, June 25 (Yonhap) -- Five candidates to lead the United Nations gathered on Jeju Island on Thursday to lay out their visions for the global institution under financial strain and struggling to stay relevant in a fractured world.

Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Rebeca Grynspan, secretary-general of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development; Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, permanent representative of Guyana to the U.N.; Macky Sall, former Senegalese president; and Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, Ecuador's former foreign minister, shared a stage at the Jeju Forum for a session titled "Reimagining Multilateralism." Michelle Bachelet, former Chilean president, sent a video message after a scheduling conflict kept her away.

At the session, all five agreed that the U.N. has become increasingly invisible and the next secretary-general's first task is to make it matter again.

In his opening speech, former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon did not sugarcoat the job.

"The position demands immense responsibility, patience and at times a profound sense of solitude," he said. The U.N., he added, is "in the grip of a serious financial crisis" with its credibility under strain.

"Whoever is elected will inherit an institution facing historic challenges," he said, calling the role "often the scapegoat."

He, however, also said the next chief would walk "side by side with the most dedicated people on Earth."

In her video message, Bachelet, who also served as U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, argued that "much of what we call inevitable conflict is actually preventable" and called for consensus-building anchored in the U.N. Charter.

Espinosa Garces, meanwhile, called for reforms at the institution, which she said "is experiencing the biggest implementation gap in its history."

"The promises written in the charter, the commitments we sign -- the people on the ground are not seeing their lives improve." She vowed to be "impartial only to the charter and to international law" if elected.

Meanwhile, Grossi pushed back against the idea that regional groupings, such as the Group of 20 (G20) or BRICS, are making the U.N. obsolete.

"At the end of the day, the U.N. will continue to be the only truly global platform," he said.

Noting the institution's distance from young people, Grynspan said the agency should stay more relevant to them. "Let's open the doors for young people to be part of the staff, part of the innovation, part of what we do every day."

The U.N. Security Council will hold closed-door deliberations before the General Assembly formalizes the appointment later this year. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' current term ends on Dec. 31.

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