The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said Sunday that it had picked Lee Chae-sub as its candidate for the chairman of the telecommunications standardization division at the International Telecommunication Union, the U.N. agency for information and communication technologies.

Lee is currently working as a researcher at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology’s IT Convergence research center and has been the chairman of ITU-T SG13 since 2009. The SG13 is a study group under the U.N. agency which leads standardization work on next-generation networks and focuses on network aspects of mobile telecommunications.

He has been devoted to standardization of information technologies for the past 26 years, according to the ministry. The ministry said it would soon complete the application process at the ITU’s headquarters in Geneva.

“Since the chairmanship post can bring a significant impact to the development of the Korean economy and industry, the ministry, in cooperation with other government agencies, will make an upmost effort to help him win the election,” the ministry said in a statement.

High-ranking officers at the ITU, including secretary-general, deputy secretary-general, and the chairman of the ITU-T, have 4-year terms and can continue for a second term.

Representatives from 193 member nations will vote to decide on the union’s high-ranking officers at the quadrennial ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, which will be held in Busan in October next year.

Lee worked as an adviser for other nations including Lebanon and Serbia in establishing telecommunications policies.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)