The Ministry of Construction and Transportation said South Korea was elected Wednesday as a member of the board of directors of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
At the 33rd annual assembly of the ICAO in Montreal, Canada, South Korea won 109 votes out of the total 156 to become a board member for the first time since it joined the ICAO in 1952.
South Korea's competitors, Indonesia and Uzbekistan, reaped 100 and 43 votes, respectively.
Ministry officials hope that the election will not only allow South Korea to take part in the process within the ICAO for the making of aviation standards, guidelines, and recommendations, but will also help the country regain category I status from the Federal
Aviation Administration of the United States.
ICAO has 33 board members in three categories, the first group with 10 advanced countries in aviation, the second with 11 countries with big aviation industry and the third with 12 countries representing regions. South Korea is the third group board member with a three-year tenure.