WTO Appellate Body Gets New Members

The WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) agreed to appoint Ms Zhao Hong of China and Mr Hyun Chong Kim of Korea as members of the Appellate Body, for four-year terms, respectively, beginning on 1 December 2016.

The new members replace Ms Yuejiao Zhang and Mr Seung Wha Chang, whose terms ended on 31 May 2016.

Ms Zhao received her Degrees of Bachelor, Masters and Ph. D in Law from the Law School of Peking University in China. She currently serves as Vice President of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Mr Kim received his Degrees of Bachelor, Masters and Juris Doctor from Columbia University in New York. He served as Trade Minister for Korea from 2004 to 2007, during which time Korea negotiated free trade agreements with more than 40 countries, including Korea’s biggest trading partners.

As minister, Mr Kim was appointed Facilitator for the services negotiations at the WTO’s December 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Conference and helped Korea host the November 2005 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Summit in Busan.