South Korea has been confirmed as the host of the 4th UN Ocean Conference (UNOC), scheduled for June 2028. Held every three years, the UN Ocean Conference is the largest and highest-level international meeting in the marine sector. Around 15,000 participants from 193 UN member states, international organizations and non-governmental organizations take part to discuss current issues related to the oceans.

The UN General Assembly on 9 December (local time) held a plenary session at UN Headquarters in New York, United States, and adopted a resolution to hold the next UN Ocean Conference in South Korea, with 169 votes in favor and 2 votes against (United States and Argentina). Chile was also selected as a co-host country for the next conference. Before the main event in South Korea, Chile is scheduled to host a high-level preparatory meeting in 2027.

The UN Ocean Conference has been jointly hosted by an emerging economy and an advanced economy as customary practice since Sweden and Fiji co-hosted the first conference in 2017. The 3rd conference, held this year, was also co-hosted by France and Costa Rica.

The next UN Ocean Conference will address issues under the theme “Life Below Water”, including △prevention of marine pollution △restoration of marine ecosystems △sustainable fisheries △designation of marine protected areas △strengthening of the international law of the sea framework. In particular, as the conference in South Korea will take place two years before the 2030 target year for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, there are expectations that it could serve as a platform to establish a new direction for international cooperation on oceans beyond 2030.

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