Interpol names South Korea’s Kim Jong-yang as new president in blow to Russia

DUBAI: Interpol has named South Korea’s Kim Jong-yang as new president for a period of two years.

Delegates from Interpol member countries elected a new president to replace Meng Hongwei, who went missing in his native China in September. Beijing later said Meng resigned after being charged with accepting bribes. Whoever is elected will serve out Meng’s term until 2020.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday endorsed a South Korean candidate to take the helm of Interpol, brushing aside Moscow’s concerns that rivals are mounting a last-minute effort to scuttle a Russian front-runner’s chances.

Kim Jong-Yang is currently the acting president of the global police body. A vote in Dubai was held Wednesday, the final day of Interpol’s annual conference, to replace former president Meng Hongwei, who is detained in China on bribery charges.

“We strongly endorse Kim Jong-Yang,” Pompeo told reporters. “We encourage all nations and organisations that are part of Interpol and that respect the rule of law to choose a leader with integrity. We believe Mr Kim will be just that.”

The endorsement came as critics called on Interpol to reject Russian candidate Alexander Prokopchuk over fears Moscow could abuse the role to target political opponents.

Moscow’s critics have raised concerns over Russia’s previous applications for Interpol “Red Notices” or international arrest warrants, to target those who have fallen foul of the Kremlin.

The US senators said Prokopchuk, a Russian interior ministry official and current Interpol vice-president, has been “personally involved” in this strategy.

British foreign office minister Harriet Baldwin on Tuesday told parliament that London would support Kim’s bid.

“We always seek to endorse candidates who have a history of observing standards of international behaviour,” she said.

Anti-Kremlin figures have raised concerns, including Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who has been repeatedly jailed by authorities.

“Our team has suffered from abuse of Interpol for political persecution by Russia,” Navalny wrote on Twitter. “I don’t think that a president from Russia will help to reduce such violations.”

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