Kim Sook, South Korean ambassador to the United Nations, has been elected president of the governing body of a U.N. organization for gender equality and empowerment of women, the government said Wednesday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Kim was elected president of the executive board of U.N. Women at its meeting at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday.

Kim was endorsed as the Asian group’s presidential candidate in August and elected by the consent of executive board members of other regional groups, the ministry said.

U.N. Women was created in 2011 by merging four U.N. bodies that dealt separately with women and gender issues.

Michelle Bachelet, former president of Chile, was appointed as the head of U.N. Women by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Its executive board, which makes major decisions on the body’s operation, consists of 41 member states.

Korea was elected to the inaugural board for the 2011-2013 term, and is currently serving on the board.

Kim will preside over the board’s three meetings in 2012, the ministry said.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)