South Korea has fallen short in its bid to produce its first-ever judge for the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The United Nations held meetings of the General Assembly and the Security Council at UN Headquarters in New York on November 3 (local time) to elect five ICJ judges.

Candidates from eight countries, including South Korea, competed for the five judge seats with terms beginning in February of next year.

South Korea put forward Baek Jin-hyun, former President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

Former President Baek served as an ITLOS judge from 2009 to 2023, including a term as president from 2017 to 2020.

To be elected as an ICJ judge, a candidate must secure an absolute majority of votes in both the General Assembly and the Security Council, and additional rounds of voting are held until the results of both bodies align.

Following the first round of voting, candidates from four countries—Singapore, Jordan, France, and the United Kingdom—were elected.

Former President Baek came very close to the absolute majority threshold in the first round and engaged in a tight race, but voluntarily withdrew his candidacy after participating up to the second round of voting.

This is interpreted as a pragmatic decision made after comprehensively assessing the shift in dynamics following the second ballot and the likelihood of election.

In the subsequent third round of voting, the candidate from Kenya was ultimately elected.

Established in 1945, the ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the UN that settles legal disputes between states and gives advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized UN organs and specialized agencies.

Fifteen judges serve nine-year terms, and one-third of the court is elected every three years to ensure judicial continuity.

While South Korea has successfully placed judges since their inceptions in the ITLOS—which deals with disputes concerning the interpretation and application of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea—and the International Criminal Court (ICC), which investigates and tries individuals accused of grave international crimes such as genocide and war crimes, it has yet to secure a seat on the ICJ.

In response, diplomatic authorities and the legal community have long invested significant efforts to produce an ICJ judge, reflecting South Korea's elevated standing in international law.

The Permanent Mission of South Korea to the United Nations has supported lobbying efforts for the candidate through various avenues, including hosting promotional events targeting the diplomatic corps in New York, but ultimately fell short in this election.

(Photo: Capture from UN Web TV, Yonhap News)