A South Korean adoptee has been elected as a senator in France for the first time.

South Korean-born Jean-Vincent Placé who served as assistant secretary general of the Greens, or the French Green Party, was elected in a Senate election for the province of Essonne held on Monday.

The 43-year-old was adopted by a family in France at age seven and studied economics while in university.

Among the 343 senate seats in France, 170 new senators have been seated from the election.

Placé says he will visit South Korea next month to visit childcare centers and hopefully trace his biological parents.