ⓒYONHAP News, Getty Images Bank

The UN Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD) has re-categorized South Korea as a developed country.

The UN agency unanimously decided to change South Korea’s status from a developing economy to a developed one during its 68th board meeting held at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland last Friday. 

It marked the first time for the UNCTAD to make such an upward adjustment since its foundation in 1964.

Ambassador Lee Tae-ho, the head of South Korea’s permanent mission in Geneva, hailed the re-classification, saying it marks a historic milestone for South Korea within the UN agency.

He said the status change is evidence of UNCTAD’s maxim that trade is an essential tool for economic development, adding that South Korea’s progress was only made possible through thriving international trade.

Lee said South Korea will continue to do its part within the UN agency so that more countries share in the positive synergy between trade and development.