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UN resolution adopted to designate Korea, Chile as co-hosts of 2028 UN Ocean Conference

Published: 10 Dec. 2025, 08:49

Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Chun Jae-soo speaks at a press conference in New York on Dec. 7. [YONHAP]

The UN General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution officially designating Korea and Chile as the co-hosts of the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) slated to take place in Korea in June 2028, as it convened a plenary meeting in New York.

The Assembly passed the resolution in a 169-2 vote with no abstention.

Under the resolution, the two countries will co-host the fourth UNOC, a triennial event hosted by a developed country and a developing country. It focuses on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: "Life Below Water" — part of UN goals to address global issues, including climate change and poverty.

Speaking at the Assembly on Monday, Seoul's Oceans Minister Chun Jae-soo said that the 2028 conference will mark a "crucial milestone" two years before the 2030 target year for SDG 14.

"2028 will be a defining moment in which all stakeholders, including governments, civil society, the private sector and the UN system, can come together to catalyze more effective collaboration and concrete action for the sustainable use and conservation of our ocean," he said.

General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock, Germany's foreign minister, called for building on the current momentum as well as the road to the fourth UNOC in 2028 to support the SDG.

"Let us use these opportunities to strengthen our collective stewardship and to reaffirm that the governance of the oceans is not merely a technical exercise, but a moral and practical imperative," she said on Monday.

Co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, the third UNOC in France in 2025 drew some 15,000 participants, including 55 top-level officials from across the world. The governments of Sweden and Fiji co-hosted the first UNOC in 2017, while those of Portugal and Kenya co-hosted the second one in 2022.

Yonhap