S. Korea elected to UNESCO executive board

SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has been elected to the executive board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the fourth consecutive term since 2007, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. The election to the 58-member body for the 2019-2023 period took place at the 40th UNESCO General Conference in Paris on Wednesday. Since its first election in 1987, South Korea has held the executive board membership, except for the 2003-2007 period. "As an executive board member for the next four years, our government will actively participate in overall discussions at UNESCO and make active efforts to help achieve its goals of world peace and common prosperity for mankind," the ministry said in a press release. Other elected countries in the Asia-Pacific group are Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Myanmar. In the election, South Korea won 158 votes, the largest number among countries in the group. sshluck@yna.co.kr (END)