A South Korean diplomat has been appointed as a member of the Advisory Group of the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the foreign ministry said Monday, voicing hope for Seoul's expanded role in tackling humanitarian crises around the world.
  
Oh Hyun-joo, the deputy chief of South Korea's permanent mission to the UN in New York, joined the 18-member group recently for the 2020-2022 period, becoming the fourth Korean to work at the body.
  
"With the appointment of the South Korean official with ample experience and expertise on development cooperation and humanitarian aid, we expect that our role will be expanded in discussions on responding to humanitarian crises in the international community," the ministry said in a press release.
  
The CERF advisory group is tasked with providing the UN secretary general with periodic policy guidance and expert advice on the use and impact of CERF aimed at providing urgently needed humanitarian aid to people caught in crises.
  
Since the fund was established in 2006, the South Korean government has contributed a total of $56.8 million to the fund. (Yonhap)