Choi Young-jin
| Choi Young-jin | |
| Hangul | 최영진 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 崔英鎭 |
| Revised Romanization | Choe Yeong-jin |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ch'oe Yŏng-jin |
Choi Young-jin (Hangul: 최영진, Choe Yeongjin; born 29 March 1948) is a South Korean politician who is the former Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI). He was appointed to the position by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in October 2007, as successor of Pierre Schori from Sweden. He has been succeeded by Bert Koenders from the Netherlands in August 2011.
Choi Young-jin was born on 29 March 1948 in Seoul, South Korea. He obtained his master's and doctorate degrees in international relations from the University of Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne), respectively, in 1980 and 1985 and his bachelor's degree with distinction from the Department of International Relations, Yonsei University in 1973. Prior to these studies, Choi had studied medicine at the Severance Medical College in Korea for four years.
A career diplomat, before being appointed Special representative of the Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, Choi has served in various capacities in the foreign service of the Republic of Korea. From 2005 to 2007, he was the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations. In 2004, he was the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. In 2003, he served as Chancellor of Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS). Previously, he was Ambassador to Austria and Slovenia, and Permanent Representative to all international organizations in Vienna, Austria. Between 2000 and 2001, he served as Deputy Minister for Policy Planning and International Organizations, in charge of foreign policy planning, North Korean affairs, the United Nations system, disarmament and non-proliferation, and democracy and human rights.
From 1998 to 1999, Choi was Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations, responsible for overseeing planning and support for 17 peacekeeping operations, including those in Kosovo, Timor-Leste, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. From 1995 to 1997, Choi was Deputy Executive Director, Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) in New York City. In this capacity, he oversaw a $5 billion project to construct two light-water nuclear reactors (LWR) in North Korea. He led negotiations within KEDO and with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to carry out the LWR project, visiting North Korea six times. In addition, he served on several other duties at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including as Director-General of the International Economic Affairs Bureau from 1994 to 1995, as First Senior Coordinator in the Ministry's Office of Policy Planning from 1991 to 1993, and as an Economic Counselor at the Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., from 1988 to 1990.
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