U.N. chief plans to visit S. Korea next month

SEOUL, July 5 (Yonhap) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon plans to visit South Korea next month to attend an international conference aimed at promoting education in human rights, literacy and other issues, the event's co-organizer said Tuesday. Ban, who was re-elected last month to a second term as leader of the U.N., will take part in the three-day U.N. Academic Impact conference in Seoul that begins Aug. 9, said officials at the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE). About 400 university officials from around the world will attend the conference, jointly hosted by South Korea's foreign and education ministries. It would be the first such conference in Asia, KCUE officials said. Initiated by Ban in 2008, the Academic Impact is a U.N.-backed global initiative that calls for institutions of higher education around the world to support 10 "universally accepted" principles in the areas of human rights, literacy, sustainability and conflict resolution. The initiative also asks each participating college or university to actively demonstrate support of at least one of those principles each year. A total of 43 universities in South Korea, including Sungkyunkwan University and Yonsei University, signed up for the initiative, according to KCUE officials. The KCUE is an association of colleges and universities in South Korea.