H.E. Oh Joon is a Professor of United Nations Studies at Kyung Hee University in Seoul and a former Ambassador of the Republic of Korea. He served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations in New York from 2013 to 2016. During this period, he was elected the 71st President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and served as President of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2015 and 2016.
Prior to his appointment in New York, H.E. Oh Joon served as Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Singapore from 2010 to 2013, and as Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Seoul from 2008 to 2010. From 2005 to 2007, he was Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission of Korea to the United Nations, where he also chaired the United Nations Disarmament Commission (UNDC) during its 2006 session. Earlier in his career, he contributed to the Office of the President of the 56th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (2001-2002) as Deputy Chef de Cabinet.
H.E. Oh Joon served as Director-General for International Organisations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2005, during which time he also chaired the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) from 2004 to 2005. Since joining the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1978, he has held numerous senior positions, including Special Adviser to the Foreign Minister; Minister at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Brazil; Deputy Director-General for Policy Planning; Counselor at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Malaysia; and Director of the United Nations Division.
In recognition of his distinguished public service, he was awarded the Order of Service Merit twice by the Government of the Republic of Korea: the Order of Green Stripes in 1996 and the Order of Yellow Stripes in 2006.
H.E. Oh Joon holds a Master’s degree in International Policy Studies from Stanford University, a diploma in International and Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Bachelor’s degree in French Literature from Seoul National University. He was a Visiting Scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University (1990-1991) and served as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Korea Agenda Council from 2010 to 2013.
