At Jeju Forum, U.N. chief candidates vow to reclaim relevance

Lead

The 21st Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity opened Wednesday in South Korea, bringing together global officials and experts around the theme "Reinventing Cooperation in a Fragmented World," as reported by Yonhap. In the forum's high-profile session on Thursday, five candidates vying to succeed United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres shared a stage to discuss the future of the institution, agreeing that it has become increasingly invisible and that the next U.N. chief must make the body matter again.

Coverage Comparison

Yonhap filed three separate reports covering distinct moments of the multi-day forum. The first report, published Wednesday, focused on the opening of the forum and its wide-ranging agenda, which spans some 70 sessions across five broad themes, including peace and security, economic and climate transitions, and governance challenges from artificial intelligence. The second, from Thursday, described the dedicated dialogue with the U.N. secretary-general candidates, capturing the urgency voiced by the aspirants to restore the institution's credibility. The third report chronicled a separate "World Leaders' Session" featuring former heads of state and government, who echoed broader concerns about the state of international cooperation and offered divergent prescriptions for addressing global crises.

Key Claims

• The Jeju Forum is co-hosted by the Jeju provincial government and South Korea's foreign ministry, and its 21st edition this year aimed to explore ways to enhance global cooperation in a time of intensified geopolitical challenges, according to Yonhap.
• Five U.N. secretary-general candidates gathered on Jeju Island on June 25 to lay out their visions: Rafael Ramona Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency; Rebeca Grynspan, secretary-general of the U.N. Trade and Agriculture Development body; Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, permanent representative of Guyana; Macky Sall, former president of Senegal; and Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, Ecuador's former foreign minister. Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, also a candidate, participated through a video message after a scheduling conflict.
• At the candidate session, all five agreed that the U.N. has become less visible and that the next secretary-general's first priority must be to make the organization matter again. Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who delivered the opening speech, said the position demands "immense responsibility, patience and at times a profound sense of solitude," and described the organization as "in the grip of a serious financial crisis" with its credibility under strain.
• In her video message, Michelle Bachelet argued that "much of what we call inevitable conflict is actually preventable" and urged for consensus-building rooted in the U.N. Loyal Charter.
• At the World Leaders' Session, Ban expressed deep concern over the future of the U.N., citing climate change, rivalry between great powers and the weakening of multilateral institutions as major problems. He emphasized that "not a single country in this world can live alone," and criticized major powers for seeking short-term national interests at the expense of international cooperation, while also acknowledging the U.N. as still the most authoritative international organization.
• Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama echoed Ban's calls, warning of the loss of the "spirit of fraternity" that underpins peaceful relations. He identified artificial intelligence-driven warfare, climate change, and the Israel-Iran conflict as most pressing concerns, and condemned the U.S. attack on Iran as "a clear violation of international law," calling on Japan to take a more independent mediating role.

Perspectives

The viewpoints expressed at the two Jeju sessions reflect two distinct approaches to global governance in a fractured world.

Ban Ki-moon (former U.N. Secretary-General): Emphasized the institutional crisis, financial and credibility strain, and pleaded for bigger powers to cooperate, maintaining that the U.N., despite its shortcomings, remains the most authoritative forum for addressing key global challenges.

Yukio Hatoyama (former Japanese Prime Minister): Proposed a more independent and principled role for individual states, stressing mutual respect and understanding as the basis of international relations, and calling out specific actions the U.S., which he saw as violating international law, while urging Japan to act as a mediator rather than a mere ally.

Rebeca Grynspan, Mackey Sall, Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Rafael Grossi, and Michelle Bachelet (U.N. secretary-general candidates): Represented a collective viewpoint that the U.N. must prove its relevance and rebuild trust, facing the challenge of fiscal constraint and changing geopolitics, and presenting varying ideas for how to do so.