S. Korean weather chief elected as WMO Executive Council member

GENEVA -- The head of South Korea's weather agency was elected as a member of the World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) Executive Council at a Council meeting in Geneva on Wednesday, allowing  South Korea to retain the two-year post for the second time in a row, WMO officials said.

Lee Il-soo, head of Korea Meteorogical Administration (KMA), became a new Council member following his Korean predecessor Cho Seok-joon, who joined the Council consisting of 37 heads of national meteorological agencies two years ago. Lee's term will continue until May 2015.

Lee's election is evaluated as the result of South Korea's high-level meteorological technologies and their persistent provision to developing countries, the officials said.

Launched in 1950, the 191-member WMO promotes cooperation in the establishment of networks for making meteorological, climatological, hydrological and geophysical observations. The agency also facilitates the exchange, processing and standardization of related data, and assists technology transfer, training and research.

South Korea joined the international body in 1963.

(Yonhap News)