U.N. refugee agency chief to visit Seoul this week to discuss global refugee issue

SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Yonhap) -- The chief of the United Nations refugee agency will visit South Korea this week to meet with scholars and government officials and call for their continuous attention and support for the global humanitarian crisis, its Seoul office said Monday.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on Wednesday for a three-day trip for meetings with officials from the foreign and justice ministries on the situation of global refugees.

He plans to "express gratitude" for South Korea's "steadfast assistance and interest" on the matter, according to the South Korean office of the U.N. refugee agency.

He will sit down with officials from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for discussions on ways to protect the forcibly displaced, it said.

During his trip, Grandi is also set to meet with various figures, including scholars, refugees, religious leaders and rights activists, as well as Jung Woo-sung, actor and goodwill ambassador for UNHCR Korea.

It will be Grandi's third visit to the South since assuming office in 2016 and the first in four years following the COVID-19 pandemic.

julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)