Interpol rejects Russian, selects South Korean as president

Interpol’s general assembly elected South Korea’s Kim Jong-yang as their new president on Wednesday in a rebuke of a Russian candidate who was strongly opposed by the U.S., Britain and other European nations.

The Associated Press reports that Kim, who won at least two-thirds of votes cast at the group’s meeting in Dubai, will serve as Interpol’s president until 2020.

{mosads}Kim’s election was seen as a victory for western countries that opposed Alexander Prokopchuk of Russia. They argued that his election would have led to further Kremlin abuses of Interpol’s red notice system to go after political opponents and fugitive dissidents.

“As recent events show, the Russian government abuses Interpol’s processes to harass its political opponents,” Marquis Garrett, a spokesperson for the National Security Council said Tuesday. “Interpol and its member countries must uphold policies that advance international police coordination and preserve the rule of law.”

South Korea also celebrated Kim’s victory. Its national police agency and foreign ministry said in a joint statement that the “national triumph” could elevate South Korea’s international standing.

Kim was already serving as Interpol’s interim president after Meng Hongwei, who was detained in China as part of a wide anti-corruption sweep, left the position earlier this year.

Prokopchuk will remain as one of the organization’s three vice presidents.