DG WTO: Korea Trade Minister To Step Down For Okonjo Iweala

South Korea´s top Trade Official is dropping her bid to become the next Director-General of the World Trade Organization, making it likely the job will go to former Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. 

She would become the first woman to lead the organization.

South Korea´s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a news release Friday that its Minister for Trade, Yoo Myung-hee, will soon tell the WTO she is withdrawing her candidacy.

The WTO, which makes world trade rules, announced in October that Yoo and Okonjo-Iweala were the two finalists to become its next Director-General, ensuring a woman will fill the top job for the first time. 

The WTO had been expected to announce a winner before the end of 2020, but the process dragged on because of disagreements between member States over the Candidates, the South Korean Ministry said.

While it appeared Okonjo-Iweala had broader support, the WTO, which operates by consensus, which means that any single member country can block decisions.