Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission chairman Lee Sung-bo has been elected as one of three Asian directors of the International Ombudsman Institute, the commission said Thursday.

The institute was established by 147 ombudsman institutions from around 100 countries in Vienna, Austria in 1978 to share their experiences of promoting civil rights.

Six candidates, including Lee, ran for Asian director in an electronic vote held Wednesday. Three contestants ― Lee, Panit Nitithanprapas, chief ombudsman of Thailand, and Salman Faruqui, federal ombudsman of Pakistan ― were elected Asian directors.

The institute has a total of 20 regional directors ― five in Europe and three each in Africa, Asia, Australasia & Pacific, North America and the Caribbean and Latin America.

The board of directors decides on training programs, research projects, regional support and others. Their term is four years. Directors can be reappointed once.

Lee will promote Korean ombudsman systems and strengthen cooperation with foreign institutions.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)