The first woman to lead the ILO, and the first from Asia
In February 2022, former South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-Wha traveled to Islamabad seeking Pakistan's support in her bid to lead the International Labour Organization — a position no woman and no person of Asian origin has ever held. Her campaign arrives at a moment when the world's oldest multilateral labor body faces mounting pressure to reflect the diversity of the workers it claims to represent. The election, set for March 25, is not merely a bureaucratic succession but a quiet reckoning with who gets to define the future of global labor rights.
- A historic candidacy is in motion: if elected, Kang would shatter two simultaneous barriers — becoming the first woman and first Asian-origin leader of the ILO in its century-long history.
- The campaign is urgent and time-bound, with the March 25 vote leaving little room for delay as Kang moves country by country to build a coalition of support.
- Pakistan sits at the center of a calculated diplomatic exchange — its endorsement is being courted not only on principle but with the implicit promise of expanded labor quotas for Pakistani workers in South Korea.
- Four rival candidates, including a former African prime minister, a French labor minister, and the ILO's own sitting deputy director, make this a genuinely contested race with no guaranteed outcome.
- Kang's pitch to the developing world is structural: she frames herself as a bridge between wealthy and poorer nations, offering the Global South a voice in an institution long shaped by European and American leadership.
On February 10, 2022, Kang Kyung-Wha arrived in Islamabad on a mission that was anything but ceremonial. South Korea's first female foreign minister was campaigning for one of the most consequential posts in international labor governance — the Director General of the International Labour Organization — and she needed Pakistan's vote.
The stakes were historic. Kang would be the first woman and the first person of Asian origin to lead the ILO, a position that has belonged exclusively to men from Europe and the Americas since the organization's founding. With the election scheduled for March 25 and the winner set to take office in October 2022, her two-day visit to meet Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and other senior officials was a deliberate act of coalition-building.
Her credentials were formidable. Beyond her tenure as foreign minister from 2017 to 2021, Kang had spent years inside the UN system — as Deputy Human Rights Chief, Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, and a senior adviser to Secretary General António Guterres. Her career across Seoul, Geneva, and New York had been defined by advocacy for human rights and women's advancement, themes she placed at the center of her ILO vision.
Pakistan had practical reasons to listen. The bilateral relationship had deepened during Kang's time as foreign minister, and South Korea currently admits one thousand Pakistani workers annually under a labor recruitment program. The Korean ambassador to Pakistan suggested that a Kang victory could lead to an expanded quota — a quiet but meaningful incentive woven into the diplomatic conversation.
The field was competitive. Kang faced four other candidates: a former Togolese prime minister, a South African businessman, France's former labor minister, and the ILO's sitting Deputy Director General from Australia. But her combination of institutional experience, symbolic significance, and a platform explicitly addressing the needs of the developing world gave her a distinctive position in the race — one that Pakistan, and nations like it, would have reason to consider carefully.
Kang Kyung-Wha arrived in Islamabad on February 10, 2022, with a specific mission: to convince Pakistan's government to back her bid for one of the world's most consequential labor posts. The former South Korean foreign minister is running to lead the International Labor Organization, the UN agency that sets global standards for workers' rights, wages, and workplace safety. She would be the first woman to hold the job, and the first person of Asian origin—a position that has, until now, belonged exclusively to men from Europe and the Americas.
During her two-day visit, Kang planned to meet with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and other senior officials. These were not ceremonial courtesy calls. She intended to lay out her vision for the organization and explain why she believed she was the right person to lead it. The timing mattered: the election would take place on March 25, and whoever won would take office in October 2022.
Kang brought substantial credentials to the table. She had served as South Korea's first female foreign minister from 2017 to 2021, a role that gave her direct experience managing bilateral relationships and trade negotiations. Before that, she had spent years in the United Nations system, holding positions including Deputy Human Rights Chief, Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, and Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs. She had also served as a senior policy adviser to UN Secretary General António Guterres. Her career, spread across Seoul, Geneva, and New York, had been built on advocacy for human rights and women's advancement—themes she emphasized as central to her vision for the ILO.
In public forums where candidates presented their platforms, Kang had made her case clear: the organization needed fresh leadership and a new perspective. She positioned herself as someone who could bridge the gap between the developed and developing worlds, bringing an impartial voice to an institution that often struggled to balance the interests of wealthy nations against those of poorer ones seeking better labor conditions and worker protections.
Pakistan had reason to listen. The two countries had built a solid relationship over years, and that relationship had strengthened during Kang's tenure as foreign minister. South Korea and Pakistan had expanded high-level diplomatic talks, increased trade and investment flows, deepened cooperation on climate change, and grown development assistance. There was also a practical dimension: South Korea recruits foreign workers annually from developing countries for jobs in agriculture, fisheries, construction, and manufacturing. Pakistan currently had a quota of one thousand workers per year in South Korea. The Korean ambassador to Pakistan, Suh Sangpyo, hinted that if Kang won the ILO position, that quota could increase, reflecting satisfaction with the quality and output of Pakistani laborers.
Kang was not running unopposed. Four other candidates were competing for the director-general seat: Gilbert Houngbo, a former prime minister of Togo; Mthunzi Mdwaba, a South African businessman; Muriel Penicaud, France's former labor minister; and Greg Vines, the ILO's sitting Deputy Director General from Australia. It was a competitive field, but Kang's combination of diplomatic experience, human rights credentials, and symbolic significance as a potential first female and first Asian leader of the organization gave her a distinctive profile. Ambassador Suh emphasized that her commitment to human-centered approaches, respect for diversity, and protection of human rights in the workplace demonstrated her fitness for the role.
The visit to Pakistan was one stop in what would be a global campaign. Kang needed votes from member states around the world. Every conversation, every bilateral meeting, every expression of support mattered. Pakistan's backing—and the backing of other developing nations—could prove decisive in an election where the interests of the Global South had historically been underrepresented in the leadership of international institutions.
Notable Quotes
The ILO needs fresh input in terms of leadership, and I would be an impartial player and a bridge between the developing and the developed world.— Kang Kyung-Wha, in candidate forums
Kang's clear vision on the importance of ensuring a human-centered approach, respecting diversity and human rights in the world of work has demonstrated her suitability for the position.— Ambassador Suh Sangpyo, Korean envoy to Pakistan
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter who leads the ILO? It's a labor organization—important, sure, but is it really a global power player?
The ILO sets the standards that shape how hundreds of millions of workers are treated. Minimum wage, workplace safety, child labor laws, collective bargaining rights—these aren't abstract ideas. They affect whether a factory worker in Pakistan gets paid fairly or whether a fisherman in Southeast Asia works in dangerous conditions. When you control the agenda of that organization, you shape global labor policy.
So Kang is trying to change that agenda?
She's saying the organization needs new thinking. For decades, the director-general has been a European or American man. That's not accidental—it reflects where power has historically sat. Kang is arguing that a woman from Asia brings a different perspective, one that might actually listen to developing countries instead of just imposing standards from above.
And Pakistan specifically—why would they care who leads the ILO?
Because Pakistan sends workers abroad. Right now, a thousand Pakistanis work in South Korea each year. If Kang wins and remembers that Pakistan supported her, that number could grow. But also because Pakistan is a developing nation with millions of workers in informal sectors, agriculture, construction. The ILO's decisions affect their lives directly.
Is she likely to win?
It's genuinely competitive. She has the experience and the symbolism, but so do the others. What matters now is whether countries like Pakistan—and dozens of others—decide she represents their interests better than the alternatives.
And if she doesn't win?
Then the ILO gets a different kind of leader, and the conversation about whose voices matter in global labor policy continues to be dominated by the same regions it always has been.